The Golden Star Enigma
by Zoram Selrof
Summary: Manga-based. After more than two years since Rock Man's and Blues' mighty last battle, both have gone separate ways. Enzan soon finds his increasing boredom being replaced by thrill, adventure and suspicion as he tries to uncover the many secrets of an overwhelmingly powerful org inspired in the late Serenade's ideals... Will he be able to solve this enigma or...? Rated M for lemon
1. Chapter 1: The Scheherazade Symphony

**The Golden Star Enigma**

**By Zoram Selrof**

**Chapter 1: The **_**Scheherazade Symphony**_

18:44 PM (Japan Time), Thursday January the 9th, 2010…

"… Hmpf… So this is the _SS Scheherazade Symphony_… Well. No big deal, I'd rather say."

"True, Enzan – sama."

"Departing time is at 19:45 PM so we're one hour early. But I don't see that guy around even though we agreed to meet at this hour and in front of the ship…"

"Maybe they are about to arrive, sir."

"Well. Guess so."

"Yo~! Enzan! Been a while~!"

"Hikari Netto. So you made it on time."

"What… We meet again after _half a year_ and the only thing you can come up with is "you made it on time"…? You don't change, Enzan!"

"Guess so."

"Hello, Blues."

"Rock Man. It's been a while."

Ijuuin Enzan, aged 14, stopped walking when he reached the dock where a passenger ship with the name _SS Scheherazade Symphony_ was docked at: he looked rather unimpressed and began chatting with his Net Navi Blues when Hikari Netto (aged 14 too) rushed towards him: Enzan merely lifted his eyebrows while Netto looked amused: both Operators carried sports bags hanging from their right shoulders while Rock Man EXE greeted Blues who replied with his usual dryness.

"Superintendent Oda isn't here yet?" Netto asked.

"No."

"Uncle Merton says you're - FIRED!"

"Yikes!"

"Heh, heh, heh."

"S-superintendent Oda…!"

"Yo! Hikari – kun. Been a while… Uncle Merton would rather say you've sharpened your face with a _katana_…"

"HUH?"

"Oh. Come on."

Superintendent Oda of the Net Police's Cyber CID suddenly showed up from behind Netto while looking in a very good humor indeed and startling Netto with his joke: Netto jumped backwards out of instinct, taken aback, while Enzan looked skeptical.

"The problem with Ijuuin – kun there is that he doesn't have a sense of humor and is so dry that all coffee in the office goes dry!" He laughed at his pun.

"Excuse me, sir, but isn't coffee_ dry_ to begin with?" Netto didn't seem to catch the irony.

"It's a joke!" He laughed again.

"Ah… W-well…" He muttered.

"Ahem, ahem." Enzan cleared his throat.

"Oh. True, true. I called both of you here because I received an invitation for this mini-cruise which extended to you two. It'd seem a gentleman wants to know more about our exploits… By the way… How long ago was it? That battle you had…" Oda asked.

"Oh, that…? Hum… Well. Pretty long ago… July 2008… I started 1st grade of middle school on September and I'm already at the 2nd grade of middle school… I've stayed outta battles ever since that one…" Netto recalled.

"My, my… Year and a half… Feels like yesterday…" Oda muttered while rubbing his chin.

"Are we gonna ride on that or not?" Enzan asked.

"Sure." Oda grinned as he showed them a wheeled suitcase he carried along with him.

"You're not gonna tell me you brought a manual of puns." Enzan muttered with some skepticism.

"Who knows?" He teased.

"Oh. Whatever."

He turned around and began climbing the ramp followed by Netto and Oda: the three of them stepped into the hall of the ship where the reception counter was at: the decoration was reminiscent of an hotel and didn't give the impression of being a ship: a clerk bowed upon spotting them and put on a professional smile as they headed over the reception clerk.

"Welcome aboard, gentlemen. How many rooms will you be using? We have single and shared cabins." The clerk greeted.

"… Hikari." Enzan called out.

"You decide." Netto shrugged his shoulders.

"You snore at night?" Enzan asked.

"EH? That's a rude question! Of course not! Right, Rock Man!"

"Well… Yeah. Netto – kun doesn't snore." Rock Man confirmed.

"Good. Then I'm gonna say shared." Enzan formed a smug smile.

"Oi, oi…" Netto looked suspicious.

"I'll have a single then." Oda told the clerk.

"Roger, sir. What might your names be?"

"Sam Merton Who Comes To Haunt Your Dreams!"

"Do excuse me?" The clerk looked horrified.

"Ahem, ahem. Sorry, young man. Here." He cleared his throat and drew his police ID.

"Superintendent Oda… Should I write it down like this, sir?"

"You may. Unless May Man has an objection to it." Oda laughed at his newly improvised joke.

"E-excuse me, sir?" He looked baffled.

"Don't mind him. He's fond of puns." Enzan warned.

"W-well…"

"Ijuuin Enzan." He announced his name.

"Hikari Netto!" Netto smiled.

"Excellent. Wait a minute."

The clerk turned to look at the board and picked two keys which he handed to Enzan and Oda.

"Rooms 21 and 26, gentlemen…"

"Good. By the way… Did Mr. Jisep come already?" Oda asked.

"Oh. No, sir. In fact… We haven't even met him yet. All transcations were handled by email and the bank…"

"Maybe this is a lil show in which he gets in as one of the invited passengers and we gotta unmask them…" Oda grinned.

"Is that "Jisep" guy the one who invited us?" Enzan asked.

"Of course. Unless you wanted it to be Count Negretto Sylvius of 136 Moorside Gardens, NW…" Oda grinned.

"No." Enzan drily settled.

"Who's that?" Netto asked.

"He collects bandanas."

"So what?" Netto frowned.

"He likes to take them from people."

"Yikes." Netto gulped.

"Along with some strands of hair…"

"Uh-oh."

"Come on." Enzan didn't buy it.

"That sounded so… improbable. Really." Rock Man muttered with some annoyance to his voice.

"Welcome to the club." Blues sarcastically told him.

"I get the irony, thanks." Rock Man muttered.

"Eh… Do excuse me but…" A voice called out.

A fellow passenger walked over to them: he was a man on his forties with some stomach together with a largely bald head (having some patches of black hair) and having no beard or moustache: his eyes were closed.

He wore gray pants, a simplistic navy blue wool sweater and an open brown sleeveless jacket over it along with brown shoes.

He was currently holding a small brown cylinder not even half a meter tall and made of wood on his right hand's thumb and index finger to show it to the other three.

"So? Do you need something?" Oda asked.

"Ah… Eh… I am sorry. I mistook you… Goodbye."

He turned around but dropped the cylinder when he was going to pocket it: Enzan and Netto crouched to pick it up and both spotted something on it which picked them: Enzan walked over to the man.

"Mr. Passenger! You dropped this, sir." Enzan called out as he showed it to him.

"Oh! T-thank you." He timidly thanked as he retrieved it.

"No, no. It is us who should be thankful." Enzan replied.

"Huh? Ah… Well… T-thanks anyway." He seemingly didn't get what Enzan meant.

He pocketed it and headed for the dining room when he spotted another passenger there: he looked on his forties as well and had abundant jet black hair plus some beard hanging from his lower chin.

His frame was slender and tall: he wore a gray wool sweater plus navy blue pants and simple brown shoes.

He was currently leaning his back against the wall and folding his arms while keeping his eyes closed: a smug smile was drawn on his face and he seemed to be waiting for something.

"Yo." He announced.

"Huh? D-do you have some business with me, sir…?" The bald passenger looked on his direction.

"Been waitin'…"

He opened his eyes to reveal green irises and at the same time held out a small key: the bald passenger smiled and seemed to recognize him given how the slender passenger walked over to him and patted his back as if they were old-time friends.

"How 'bout a drink over there? I treat. And we'll have a chat like in the good ol' times…" He invited.

"Delighted."

Both men headed into the dining room while a member of the staff walked over to the counter.

"Well. The organizer said 9 persons were invited… They all have come aboard by now. We should get ready to sail soon." He told his partner while looking up from a list in a clipboard.

"Aren't we forgetting that elderly gentleman who came out because he'd forgotten something ashore?" The clerk asked.

"Huh? Ah! No. He came back onboard and is resting on his cabin by now so there's no need to be worried about that."

"No problem then… Let's close the door already."

The group of three headed downstairs into the rooms and Enzan unlocked his and Netto's room: it had two bunk beds, a small desk plus a chair and a small adjacent bathroom: there were individual low-power lights built at the northern end of each bed to allow for individual reading without bothering the other passenger.

"Good. I'll be on the topmost bed yet…" Enzan trailed off in purpose and directed a glance at Netto.

"I told you I don't snore. Do _you_ snore?" Netto grumbled.

"No."

"So what's with the look? I'm not a noctambule either."

"Soft, medium or hard?" Enzan suddenly asked.

"What? You mean the soy sauce?" Netto frowned.

"… Never mind then." He shrugged his shoulders.

"I thought you were serious." Netto reminded him.

"Sometimes."

"That sounded like a lawyer, ya know." Netto grumbled as he placed his suitcase atop his bed and unlocked it.

"Going to pick the _katana_?" Enzan asked.

"What in the… I'm just gonna put on jeans and a coat because it'll be cold out there in the sea. I don't wanna catch the flu." Netto protested as he took a pair of jeans out plus a brownish coat.

"Alright. By the way. 4, 4.5 or 5?" Enzan suddenly asked next.

"What's that? The level of spiciness?"

"You never know. I'm going on ahead to the deck. Meet ya there."

Enzan came out and closed the door while having a smug smile on his face and ignoring Netto's yells of protest: he shrugged his shoulders and climbed upstairs into the reception: he then walked past the dining room where only the two passengers were at and came out into the front deck to look at the sea: Oda was sitting in one of the hammocks and chatting with someone over the cell-phone.

"… and then Aunt Matilda appeared as if summoned by a magician and claimed an _omelet_ had abducted her cat. Wait a min! The pun is that the criminal was named Rodrigo Tortilla and "tortilla" means "omelet" so that's why she said that! Mwah, hah, hah, hah!" He laughed at his own lame joke.

Enzan headed to the front of the ship and spotted a woman passenger there: she appealed as being on her thirties and was rather slender in frame too: she was giving the back to Enzan so he could only see she had brown hair.

She sported a green sailor's coat plus a pair of jeans and black knee-high boots and a cap: her hands were closed around the railing and she was looking forward.

Enzan walked over to that same spot and tried to look at her face but the cap hid most of it yet her face's overall shape was smooth and soft but not too beautiful either.

_Your everyday type_…

"… Ah. So we finally get to see some diversity. And here I thought this ship would be filled with dull men." She told Enzan.

"So it seemed." Enzan calmly replied.

"The sea… Is not magnificent? Such vastness… Such enigma… It shall swallow everything… Be it sorrow, despair, grudges, hatred… Such vastness can only be compared to outer space… And many things are swallowed by the sea… Corpses as well…" She muttered as if reflecting upon it.

"Well… True." He admitted.

"I am surprised, though. I have never met any "Mr. Jisep" and I am but an office lady so I am wondering why I got called here. I checked the passenger list and none here are people I have ever known. Maybe someone spoke of me and they thought I would bring some diversity to this otherwise dull cruise." She admitted aloud.

"Same thing here… I don't think our CO has ever met that "Mr. Jisep" person yet… I've figured out who they are."

"Is that so?"

"That bald man over there in the bar… He dropped a seal a while ago which had the name "Jisep" engraved into it…"

"Hum. I think he is named Konda – dono, though…" She seemed to be frowning.

"Maybe "Jisep" is an alias and he threw this together to recreate the cliché that you meet important people in a ship…" Enzan shrugged.

"It may be so…"

"Hello there! I'd say: a wonderful sunset! Don't you think so?"

A new passenger walked over to them: he appealed to be on his forties and had abundant brown hair plus a moustache: his eyes' irises were brown and he wasn't fat but had some build.

He wore a pale brown suit over a reddish shirt combined with pants of the same color, a green tie and shoes.

He currently had both hands stuffed on his pockets and looked friendly given his broad smile.

"Without mistake…" The woman formed a smile and seemed to snap out of her earlier slightly gloomy mood.

"So you're one of the young lads… It's good to see some variety around here and erase the dullness which comes with all of us being in the same age group…" The man told Enzan.

"True, sir."

"… Wait, wait. There's more! Rocky Rocking delivered a Super Fast Express Ultimate Crusher Punch at Ugly Masky's jaw and knocked him out so he won the match in just 49 seconds! How's that?" Oda laughed.

"I doubt that." Blues drily muttered.

"It obviously never happened to begin with." Enzan deduced.

"Yo! Sorry for the hold-up, Enzan…" Netto called out as he walked over to him having changed the shorts for the jeans and put on the jacket over his vest.

"So, Hikari. Who did it to begin with?" Enzan asked.

"Who did _what_?" Netto asked.

"You know."

"I'm not following."

"Well. We can settle it later then."

"Settle what?"

Enzan merely walked off without replying to Netto's question and headed for the dining room which had been lighted up and the setting completed so he picked a seat.

"Attention all customers: supper is ready so come inside if you may to start." A voice rang out through the PA speakers.

"Yum! Supper." Netto came in and looked like he was day-dreaming about it already.

"Come on, Netto – kun. Focus." Rock Man sighed.

"When it comes to food he tends to lose focus, right?" Blues dully asked of Rock Man.

"Sure thing…" Rock Man rolled his eyes.

"So? How's it been like? Middle school…" Blues asked.

"Oh. Good. It's challenging but I've survived." He summed up.

"Here are the menus, gentlemen…"

"Thank you."

"So! Hikari – kun. Ijuuin – kun. Who was the Emperor of Mongolia in the year 666 AD?" Oda asked as he sat down in a chair next to their table and leaning forward with a smile on his face.

"No – one. The Mongolian Empire didn't exist until 1206 AD." Enzan replied with a skeptical look to his face.

"There you go!" Oda laughed.

"How silly." Rock Man complained.

"Totally." Blues agreed on it.

"So? Mr. Shoes is gonna beat Mr. Sandals?"

"Who knows?" Enzan shrugged his shoulders.

"Hmmm… I'll have the soup plus the beef having green salad as side and water..." Netto settled.

"Alright. Then I'll have the pork rice and some water…"

"Bring me the _takoyaki_ and water too…" Oda requested.

"Roger."

The waiter walked off while another two took orders from the other passengers: the two friends had picked one table while the other man and the woman shared another: the woman had removed her cap to reveal eyes with brown irises and her neatly combed brownish hair but had a dull look to her as the man tried to start a conversation.

"By the way… I thought there were supposed to be 9 passengers onboard today? I only see 7." Netto commented to the waiter as he brought their orders.

"True. The remaining two are a gentleman on his mid 20s and another on his 60s. The first one requested just yoghurt and is working on some business while the other is resting and wasn't hungry."

"Guess we'll meet them tomorrow. The ship is doing a two-night and three-day cruise after all." Enzan shrugged.

"Here you have."

"Yum! _Itadakimasu_~!" Netto grinned.

"And then Masked Catastrophe summoned Unmasked Catastrophe whose ugliness was more than enough to make Armored Storm faint and be knocked out! How's that one like?" Oda joked.

"Those boxing jokes are lame and vain." Enzan directly replied.

"Lame and vain goes vain and lame~!" He improvised a rhyme.

The other passengers glared at him with annoyed faces and he gulped so he remained quiet while the others had their suppers: Enzan and Netto along with Blues and Rock Man sighed in relief.

"Desserts?" The waiter offered.

"Banana, please." Netto requested.

"Nothing, thank you." Enzan thanked.

"Merton ice-cream." Oda joked.

"Excuse me, sir?" The waiter frowned.

"Sorry. Ahem, ahem. An apple if you may." He cleared his throat.

"Certainly."

"… Can you believe it that someone can gain so much money just from being a syndicate member that doesn't imply any real job? No wonder our economy is still struggling after the disaster of the 90s!" The white suit passenger told the woman.

"No wonder." She drily replied.

"But we should be glad: I've seen reports of other countries having those "informational picket" which in truth try to stop people from going to work during general strikes and later commit vandal acts…!"

"By the way… I now remember… That elderly gentleman… Is he a researcher? He struck to me as… He had that monocle on his face and that spiky hair too… And that curious coat… I saw him carrying a folder with some documents and one looked like circuitry blueprints… What is his name?" The woman asked the waiter.

"Oh. He did give me a visiting card… Eh… Ah. Here… Well. He is a researcher specialized in robotics and energy… I believe he is a foreigner who has been living here for long given his good Japanese… I believe he is on his 60s… Yet… He had one or two stitched wounds which picked me for some reason or another…" The waiter commented.

Enzan was frowning and seemed to be picked by the conversation while Oda was writing something down and Netto was apparently checking his inbox: they'd already eaten their desserts by now.

"… _Dr. Joseph Wily_… That's his name." The waiter announced.

"WHAT!"

All passengers gasped and looked at the waiter who seemed surprised: Oda suddenly stood up and raced over to the waiter.

"Where's that old fox at!" He demanded.

"R-room 23, sir…" He uttered.

"Joseph Wily…! Was that not the demoniac genius scientist who tried to destroy the world back in the year 2007?" The woman gasped.

"Ugh! I suddenly feel bad… I'm going to my room…! To lie down for a while…!" The bald passenger suddenly stood up and looked nervous.

"Cha keep on being the type susceptible to sea sickness, huh? Good night, anyway." His partner asked with some sarcasm.

"Hikari – kun! Ijuuin – kun! Follow me! We're going to apprehend that old fox! Waiter! Come along! You have a master key, don't you? I'm Net Police Cyber CID so let's go!" Oda rallied.

"R-roger, sir…"

The group ran down the stairs and into the corridor with the rooms before stopping at both sides of Room 23.

"Open it and we'll cover you. I brought my service revolver today and the old fox might be armed…" Oda whispered.

"R-roger, sir…"

"You two be ready to disable any foul machine he might carry inside of that suitcase too…" Oda instructed.

"Roger." Both nodded in understanding.

"It's o-open, sir…!" The waiter whispered.

"Good. Ready… Go!"

Oda drew his revolver and pulled the door open with the left hand while aiming forward: the room was unlit so he quickly switched the revolver to the left hand and then hit the light switch with the right hand: the lights turned on but the room was empty and didn't look like it'd been used to begin with.

"What in the Merton?" He cursed.

"The room looks clean…" Netto muttered.

"Too clean." Enzan grumbled.

"Are you sure that the old man's room is this one?"

"Yes, sir. There can't be any mistake. I knocked earlier before supper but he replied "my bad, I don't feel hungry" and thus I headed back after checking with Room 19's gentleman…"

"Room 19's… The yoghurt fella, you mean? Is he there?" Oda asked the waiter.

"I think so." The waiter admitted.

"Let's check with him."

"Alright… Here it is."

"Oi! Yoghurt Fella! Uncle Merton says you gotta be a Dow Jones stock broker! Let devil bite my hat if I'm wrong!" Oda yelled as he banged on the door.

"By all the… Mr. Passenger! I demand to know the reason for such a commotion!" An annoyed voice rang out.

"Net Police's Cyber CID Superintendent Oda!"

"N-Net Police's Cyber CID…?" The man gasped.

He quickly unlocked the door: he was a man on his mid-20s with abundant brown-colored hair and eyes having blue irises: he looked clean shaved and his face was smooth and suave.

He wore a black suit with a black tie over a white shirt plus black pants and brown shoes.

"Alright! Show me the ID." Oda commanded as he showed him his police ID.

"R-roger…"

The man handed Oda his passport and he looked at it.

"Kanou Shade. 25 years old. Birthday: October the 21st, 1984… Nationality: Japanese… Current residence… Densan City 5th district… So… What's your job?" Oda read before asking.

"Winterthur Inc. employee, sir… I am a clerk in the Densan City office although I work part-time there… I'm still finishing an online course on finances…" He admitted.

"Good. Have you seen the fellow in Room 23?"

"The gentleman with the hostile look…? I have." He replied.

"When was that?"

"Shortly after coming onboard, around 18:00 PM… I'd come out of my room to head to the deck and have a look when I saw him unlocking his and directing a hostile glare at me and then slamming the door shut."

"Slamming the door shut… Maybe he wanted to work on something and didn't want anyone to bother him or something had gone badly and thus was in a foul mood…" Oda muttered.

"Is there a problem?" Kanou Shade asked.

"There is! The man is the infamous Dr. Wily who led the WWW!"

"But hadn't he died in an explosion after the "Dream Virus" was destroyed and thus the WWW collapsed?" Kanou Shade asked with a gasp.

"Weeds never die! The guy seems to be alive and unless he had a twin which I'm sure as Merton that he didn't then he survived somehow and has been hiding ever since then." Oda grumbled.

"W-what should I do, sir?"

"Have you heard him coming out afterwards?"

"I wouldn't be able to say, sir. I was working with my laptop and listening to music at the same time so I don't think so, sir." He admitted with a shrug of the shoulders.

"So he came out along with his suitcase… What kind of suitcase was it, anyway?" Oda asked.

"A silver attaché case… And he also carried a folder with some documents loosely stuffed there… But I only saw him for a moment anyway before he slammed the door shut." Kanou Shade replied.

"Alright. I'm off to checking with the staff."

Oda ran off and both boys shrugged while Kanou Shade looked worried at the prospect: he sighed and picked a gray trench coat hanging from the perch behind the door plus a brown hat having a black band around it which he put on.

"I'm going to the deck. I don't feel like working with a crazy old man so close to my room." He muttered.

"Well. I'd say we go up and try to think of where the guy could hide because he can't be in the cabins…" Ennzan suggested.

"Obviously… They're all locked." Netto realized.

Kanou Shade locked his and the three of them headed into the topmost deck where they sat on the benches while looking around the unlit sea surrounding them.

"So… They never found his body back then?" Kanou Shade asked to break the silence.

"No." Enzan merely replied.

"I never bothered to ask. I had other things going on my mind." Netto sighed as he glanced at his PET.

"Yet… What a bizarre coincidence. Of all places in the world he ends up being _invited_ to ride in this ship and the ones who witnessed his defeat are invited as well… This "Mr. Jisep" knows something. And I don't think that bald man is him either… I'd rather think it's someone unseen but that the bald man was given that seal as a red herring…" Kanou Shade muttered as he rubbed his chin.

"Guess so." Enzan lazily replied.

"It's starting to get cold so why don't we go to the rec room? It'll be warmer, I'd say." Netto suggested.

"Yeah. Let's go there. What time is it, anyway? Hum. Past 21:00 PM already…" Enzan agreed as he glanced at his PET's digital clock and confirmed the time.

"I don't feel like sleeping until we figure out where did Wily go off to and if it's really him although it has to… I mean, they've seen him open the door and so…" Netto muttered.

The group headed inside of the rec room where they found the other passengers expect for Oda and the bald man named Konda: the woman was having a drink on the bar's counter while the other two were chatting while sitting opposite each other in the sofas with the table being placed in the middle.

"So? Did that man appear?" The woman asked.

"Sadly, no, ma'am… They seem to have vanished into thin air and they were not in their room…" Kanou Shade took off his hat and made a courteous bow.

"You seem somewhat… out of time… with your manners." She seemed to be trying to find the appropriate adjective.

"Truly."

"Hmpf… Fine… Yet… I brought a deck. Why do we not play before retiring to sleep? Surely the old man will have been found by then. We shall not bet any money either…" She invited as she finished her drink.

"Delighted. Gentlemen?"

"No problem, miss." The slender man grinned.

"Excellent." The man in the white suit agreed.

"Sure!" Netto grinned.

"Why not…" Enzan shrugged.

They sat around the table and began to play while soft background music began to play: the barman whistled a tune and drew a small portable radio which he turned on and put on a pair of earphones to listen to its broadcast.

"… I'm going to the toilet for a moment… I'll be right back. Please carry on…" The white suit man excused himself.

"Alright."

"By Merton! That guy's a wizard!"

Oda came back in while looking defeated and sat on one stool while yawning and stretching.

"What?" Enzan asked.

"You heard me! He wasn't in any room or any of the decks! He wasn't in the toilets either! All rooms were locked! The crew's quarters were untouched as well! This is madness!" He cursed.

"What's madness?" The white suit man asked as he returned while cleansing his hands with a handkerchief.

"The old man! He's nowhere at all and yet 5 persons saw him onboard the ship! It's crazy! Totally crazy! No master keys are missing either and I checked all rooms!" He grumbled.

"Truly strange, truly…"

"Full house." The woman announced.

"Man. I'm so bad at these… My bad. I'm gonna go nap. Now that we know the rooms are safe… Good evening." The slender man rose and stretched before barely suppressing a yawn.

"By Merton's swollen right eye and nose! I won't give up so easily! Ah! Yes, yes… By the way… now that I think of it… What are your names? Just for the record." He called out.

"Koyota Shayo." The slender man lazily replied as he came out of the rec room and waved a hand.

"Nazanazo Mary." The woman introduced herself.

"Kyundai Augen." The white suit man admitted.

"Alright. I already know the bald fellow is named Konda Tarou from the passenger list… I didn't want to wake him up." He muttered as he wrote then down on a small notebook.

"Do you desire something to drink, sir?" The barman asked.

"An orange juice…" He sighed.

"Roger, sir."

"This rings a bell somewhere…" Enzan suddenly muttered.

"Is that so, sir? I don't seem to recall…" Blues began.

"No, no. I mean that I've read somewhere about a similar thing. But I can't recall where or when right now… Well. I'm sure I'll eventually remember what it is." Enzan frowned.

"By the way… Are you really the boy who defeated those "Cybeasts" back in 2007?" Nazonazo asked of Netto.

"W-well, yeah… But it wasn't just me… There were others who backed me up and we all poured our strength together…" Netto blushed and scratched the back of his head.

"I had a part on that too." Enzan drily added.

"Of course! Who said you didn't?" Netto asked back.

"So? Did you find a girlfriend yet?" Nazonazo smugly asked.

"E~H? N-n-not yet… ma'am…!" He blushed and sounded nervous at the question.

"Guess it's the other way around." Kyundai grinned.

"Ah. You think so… On what grounds?" Nazonazo asked.

"Huh! I was joking, ma'am, just joking…" He admitted.

"Hmpf… Pointless…" She muttered with some annoyance to her voice and while looking offended.

"… And Uncle Steve said his perfume smelt like a revolver…" Oda was joking with the barman.

"I find that highly unrealistic, sir." The barman replied.

"Come on! Don't be so stiff: imagine! _Imagine~_!"

"The John Lenon song…" Enzan muttered.

"_Imagine_~!"

"What vanity." Nazonazo muttered.

"It might be named as such." Kanou Shade simply replied.

"_My voice is the best_!" Oda kept on singing.

"Oh by all the. Someone stop him." Enzan cursed.

"_My lady_~!"

BANG!

Everyone jumped off the seats, startled, at the sound and looked around in a confused manner.

"G-gunfire… From the upper deck...? What time is it?"

"Huh… 21:34 PM…" Netto checked.

"Damn! I gotta check it out! It might be the old man!"

Oda ran out and the two boys followed him upstairs and into the uppermost deck where they found something unexpected: the flag was on fire.

"T-the flag's on fire…!" Netto gasped.

"What in the…" Enzan cursed.

"The old man…! Where are they…?" Oda grumbled.

"What was that sound?" Kyundai's voice rang out.

"Wasn't that fireworks?" Kanou Shade asked.

"I doubt it." Nazonazo replied.

The other three passengers rushed into the deck as well and stared at the still burning flag with disbelief.

"Who the hell did this? Wily?" Netto cursed.

"Enzan – sama! Look… On that bench's reverse… A 10,000 Z note with some words scribbled on it has been stabbed into it using a knife! It could be a message!" Blues pointed.

In effect: the Net Police trio rushed over to it and checked the note yet the poor lighting made it hard to read: they were about to draw their PETs and use their flashlights when Nazonazo stepped forward and flipped open her cell-phone to illuminate the note.

"… "Having accepted the life granted by the Sea God Poseidon… My shadow shall be revived." …" She dully read aloud.

"A~H!"

"Kyu – Kyundai – san?"

Kyundai suddenly gasped in horror and began to erratically move forward while looking terrified.

"Huh! W-was alive…! Thought as much…! Ah! That guy was…! That guy was…! WAS ALIVE~!" He muttered before turning to face everyone and yell in a horrified manner.

An explosion suddenly took place behind Kyundai and from the lower deck which reached past the upper deck before turning into a continuous column of smoke: everyone gasped and a loud alarm began to ring out across the ship.

"The f-fire alarm…!" One staff man gasped.

Enzan and Netto wasted no time in racing downstairs, past the rec room and into the stern of the ship where a square box was burning with unusual fierceness: the heat was too intense to allow for them to approach it and they had to remain there looking at the strange phenomenon.

"W-what's burning?" Netto asked.

"That's… the emergency rope stair's box…! I saw one earlier so I can't be mistaken!" Enzan realized.

"The rope stair's box…? But then… What caused the explosion and why is it burning so fiercely?" Netto wondered.

"Ah! L-look!" Rock Man gasped in horror.

They look there and saw the unmistakable shape of a man's arms burning inside of the flames: both were paralyzed at the sight of the already blackened form and that of what seemed to be a strap-watch on one of the wrists.

"Step aside, you two!"

"Huh! Y-yes, sir!"

A staff man aimed a fire extinguisher there along with another staff man and they began to put the flames out until it stopped burning altogether and the smoke receded: the other passengers had gathered there by now and looked horrified.

"Damn it. It's so burnt out that it's impossible to say who this fellow is until we get to shore and do a dental identification… It could be old man Wily for all we know." Oda cursed.

"Excuse me. Does not that person carry a strap-watch? I am pretty sure Koyota – dono owned it." Nazonazo pointed.

"Oh. True. It's mostly melted and deformed but it is a true gold strap-watch…" Oda realized.

"Shouldn't we call for that other passenger, that Konda – san? Maybe he knows something?" Netto suggested.

"I'd rather ask that guy, Kyundai, first. His words of a few minutes ago were pretty suspicious." Enzan replied as he glanced at Kyundai over his right shoulder.

"Almost as if he was expecting Wily to be alive…" Blues added.

"Which reeks." Rock Man concluded.

"Anyway. The explosion's origin is this can of gasoline which seems to have been ignited somehow yet I don't see any remains of a detonation device. And this guy's pose reminiscent of a boxer is because the heat stiffens the body and the body automatically gets into this position while burning. Nothing spectacular here. This was done deliberately because the boxes were secured from the outside when I searched for the old man around here." Oda listed.

He then walked over to Kyundai and scrutinized him with his glare: Kyundai broke into cold sweat and looked nervous: he began to step back and Oda took another step forward.

"Cha and I gotta talk a lot, fella… And let devil bite me if you don't know something about old man Wily." He warned.

He signaled for him to follow him and the other passengers followed suit while the staff put a cloth over the corpse to hide it from sight: the group came into the dining room and Oda signaled for Kyundai to sit down in front of him: Oda picked the chair opposite him and leant forward while Kyundai avoided eye contact: the other passengers were standing next to the western side doors.

"So! Speak."

"I k-know nothing!" He tried to waltz outta it.

"Ah? And what did you mean a while ago then?"

"Huh! Eh… It's nothing, I say!"

"You say but I'm not satisfied with that. Lemme remind you I'm Net Police Cyber CID and I'm a Superintendent. You better don't joke around with me, fella." Oda warned next.

"By the way… Shouldn't we bring Konda – san in and ask of him if he has any idea about Wily? That of the seasickness seemed like an improvised excuse to get out of the dining room." Enzan suggested.

"Go fetch Mr. Clean and I'll fetch Uncle Merton. Let devil bite Uncle Merton's beard if you're not trying to waltz outta it, Kyundai. I know cha are hiding something. And I'll find it out like it or not." He icily warned Kyundai by leaning forward.

Enzan came out followed by Netto and they headed downstairs into the passengers' rooms: Enzan knocked on Room 27's door.

"Konda – san? Excuse me? Konda – san? They're calling for you, sir, so please come to the dining room… Huh?"

Enzan spotted how the door was badly locked and he pulled it open for a little portion to look inside: the room was unlit.

"Hello? Konda – san? Hello? Can you come with us, sir? Are you hearing us, sir? Eh…" Enzan kept on calling out.

"Konda – san! Please wake up!" Netto called out.

Enzan tried the light switch and found only a suitcase in the room and no – one else: the bed was untouched as well and the restroom was empty as well.

"By all the… He's given us the slip and vanished into thin air too? What's going in this ship?" Enzan cursed.

"We should tell Superintendent Oda, right?" Netto guessed.

"Obviously! Come!"

"R-roger."

Both ran back into the dining room where Oda was merely folding his arms and staring at Kyundai who avoided eye contact.

"Superintendent Oda! Konda's vanished into thin air."

"By all the… What the hell's wrong with this ship? Steve Dixie and Barney Stockdale are running this show or WHAT?" He cursed with obvious sarcasm to his voice.

"So! Now we have that old man who is nowhere to be found, Konda – dono vanishes and Koyota – dono shows up as a corpse. How lovely, really…! What is this, a hidden camera TV… event… or what? Someone should rather explain what is going on." Nazonazo adjusted her glasses and looked annoyed.

"For all we know…" Kanou Shade shrugged his shoulders.

"Ugh! You can't detain me here! I'm off to the toilet!" Kyundai suddenly stood up and tried to look challenging.

"Whatever! The coastal police will be less kind."

"I'll complain to your superiors!"

He came out of the room and everyone else sat around the chairs while looking defeated and tired: Oda grumbled and took out some chewing gum from his breast pocket which he began to chew.

"So… What next?" Enzan asked with a sigh.

"We obviously aren't going to continue the whole route: I've called the coastal authorities and they've ordered the captain to head for the closest port which we'll reach tomorrow morning." Oda replied.

"Have you tried asking about if they can trace the transactions made to reserve the ship?" Enzan suggested.

"They're on it."

"Leave no stone unturned, huh?" Netto guessed.

"Obviously." Enzan confirmed.

"Whoa. It's past 10 PM by now. Well. Luckily my winter break doesn't end until Monday so I still have some days." Netto whistled in surprise upon checking the hour.

"… Hmmm!"

Kyundai came back in and grumbled as he sat in a chair in one corner and began to tap the edge with the right hand's index and middle finger as if trying to vent his bad mood.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

"F-four shots!" Enzan gasped.

"Don't tell me Wily is intending to manslaughter us all!" Netto cursed as he looked around.

"You stay here, Hikari! We'll check it out!" Enzan replied.

"Huh! Eh… W-well… A-alright…"

"Good! Come with me, Ijuuin – kun! You pick the west I pick the east and we'll corner them!" Oda ordered.

"Roger, sir!"

Both ran out and down both corridors to converge on the stern yet they found it empty: Oda quickly pulled the cloth off the burnt corpse to check that there wasn't anyone hiding there: it wasn't the case and no – one could be seen on the scene.

"Impossible, by Merton!"

"Superintendent! There's a maintenance hatch here which I believe leads to the engine room… He could've snuck back inside the ship like this and hidden there…!" Enzan realized as he opened it.

"Going inside just like that is suicide. But I've got my service revolver and I'll use it to disarm that old fox if they show their hide around! Wait and see, Wily!" Oda grumbled.

"E-Enzan! Superintendent! Kyundai says he wants to talk: he's broken into cries and yells that Wily wants to kill him!" Netto reported as he rushed in from the eastern side.

"What! Then what are we waiting for? Let's seal this hatch with something, though… Hmmm… There: another emergency rope staircase box… Let's drag it and block the hatch." Oda spotted.

They dragged it atop the hatch and then returned to the living room where Kyundai was sitting on a chair looking towards the bow of the ship so Oda sat in front of him and Netto stood to Kyundai's right while looking curious at his terrified face: Enzan leant his back against a column on the right side of the room.

"Alright… I… worked for the WWW… as a fifth column…" He confessed with a sigh.

"What! Fifth column… So you aided that Count Elec guy in their infiltration of the Silver Tower where the Science Labs are housed at…?" Oda quickly caught up.

"Yeah… We set everything up but it was for them to take the glory: yet we were also evacuated when Wily – sama commanded… But by then I and another two pals had begun to investigate rumors of a gigantic fortune in black budge… We'd been eavesdropping on him and checking his bank movements for over a year by then… We suspected something could go wrong so we all changed our names and erased our data from the databases in advance… We got a hold of his passwords and aliases as well so we were ready to take the money…" He continued.

"So you backstabbed the old fox." Oda summed up.

"Yeah. During the confusion brought upon by the "Dream Virus" and its activation we split the money into several portions and vowed to wait at least two years before withdrawing our portions… We parted ways and took a slice each… The one who came up with the idea of the ship meeting was Koyota… But now Koyota's dead and Konda has vanished… I fear I'm the next one… Wily made it through that somehow and has chased us: he must've intercepted Koyota's letter and faked a copy of it to get onboard so… I began to suspect someone of being on my trail about a month ago when I came out of the bank after depositing some money… And I couldn't figure out who they were… But now I think it was Wily…" Kyundai continued while looking at the ground.

"So! Wily is aiming to have you pay for your betrayal and such must be hiding in the engine room plotting something… I'm sure that we'll find Konda's corpse there… Maybe he went in when Konda was returning to his room, he got curious, followed him and got done in… Wily then intercepted Koyota after he'd called it quits for the night and put him inside of the box which he then set fire to with a fuse but not before calling us into the upper deck by detonating the gun there and then rushing down while we decided what to do." Oda suggested.

BANG!

"Guwra~h!"

"Hikari!"

"Netto – kun!"

"By all the…!"

A shot rang out and Netto collapsed into the ground and rolled across it by inertia while clutching his right arm below the elbow and closing his eyes from the pain: he was clenching his teeth too.

"Get down!" Oda ordered.

"Quickly!" Enzan added.

Everyone crouched while Oda crawled over to Netto who was groaning and in pain: Rock Man looked horrified at the sight of some thin trails of blood sliding down his right forearm and hand.

"Netto – kun! Hang in there! Netto – kun!"

"Hikari – kun! Where did they hit you? Answer me!"

"Guh… Kruh… Ugh!" He managed to hiss.

"Right forearm…?"

Oda pulled back the coat's right sleeve and the shirt's sleeve as well to see a fresh bullet wound on his right forearm below the elbow and before the wrist which was slightly bleeding.

"By Merton! A bullet wound…! Hell! Who the…?"

BANG!

Another shot rang out and Enzan crawled towards the front viewing windows to then sit on the ground and use a column as covering to glance outside into the largely unlit bow.

"A person… There's a person shape there in the bow!" He reported while forming a grimace.

"Alright! Time to make my revolver sing! Ijuuin – kun! Tend to Hikari – kun: try to stop him from moving around too much or the wound could worsen." Oda commanded.

He ran out through the eastern door and used the glassed wall as momentary cover while he looked towards the figure sitting on the bow and leaning against the railings: he drew his revolver and took out the safety.

"Alright, Wily! No more cat-and-mouse! Drop your weapon and lift your hands where I can see them! Ya listening? By Merton! I'm getting annoyed, you know! Oi! Answer me, old man! Hmmm?"

Oda spotted a small spotlight set above him which he aimed towards the figure and immediately gasped.

"… Ko… Koyota…! That's Koyota…!"

"By all the…!" Enzan cursed from inside the dining room.

In effect: Koyota, missing his sweater and having a white shirt on, was sitting on the ground and had a gun on his right hand plus a bullet wound on the right side of his head which was slightly bleeding: his eyes were lacking life and his jaw was wide open.

"You gotta be kidding me." Oda cursed.

"W-what… going…?" Netto slowly opened his eyes and asked in a hoarse voice which didn't conceal his fear.

"Calm down. You got shot. By Koyota."

"Huh…? Why…? It wasn't… Wily…?" He slowly asked.

"Doesn't seem like it… Someone bring a first aid kit!"

"I'll go." Kanou Shade offered.

"This is madness. So who the hell is the burn body? Wily?" Oda cursed aloud.

"Could that not be Konda – dono?" Nazonazo suggested as she adjusted her reading glasses.

"Bloody Merton. Then Koyota's the culprit? Wait a min… "Wily" was seen a while before we came… And then said he had to retrieve something and come back… Hmmm…"

He then spotted a rope ladder attached at the lowest spot of the railing and hanging in front of the ship's bow.

"I see. He has rope marks on the cuffs and ankles from securing his hands and feet there while he hid… He's gotta be the one who put Konda in the box after putting his sweater on him and giving him the clock. Then he drew us away by shooting in the rear and rushing back inside using the hatch to come out in the front and hide below the windows during out chat with Kyundai… I see a motive by now: get all the money! That's why he called them here to begin with."

"… There. You won't be able to use that arm for a week or so but before that we'll get you to a hospital where you can get that bullet removed in the first place…" Enzan told Netto as he finished bandaging the arm in a calm manner.

"Kyundai. I think you know something about "Wily" being onboard because I'm starting to doubt that." Oda came back in and loomed over Kyundai.

"T-that's…"

"Koyota did it, right? He has the right body shape for that. He disguised, came in, left the luggage, returned to register as Koyota and then disguised again in the toilet to produce an image of Wily: when he came inside of the room he changed back and hid the stuff on his own room to then come back. He then waited for someone to bring out the name "Wily" and all would start to move according to his plan. We were invited as camouflage and to hide the obvious. Who'd thought a former WWW member would invite a member of the Net Police's Cyber CID to begin with?" He deduced.

"G-guess so… T-the seal and key were signs to recognize each other while I brought a sign… The old tradition was that to hold a bank account you had to have a sign, a key and a seal so…" He admitted.

"Anyway! _Case Closed_, I'd say. Koyota staged it all but seeing how he missed his shot he decided to drop into Hell by his hand out of despair seeing how everything went wrong at the last moment… Let's get to port and you're gonna have a talk with my buddies there."

Kyundai nervously nodded while Netto seemed to slowly shake off his tension: Enzan patted his back as if to cheer him up while Nazonazo and Kanou Shade looked relieved that the tale was over.

"Alright! And now I say: Uncle Merton will - RECRUIT YA! Into what, you'll ask? Into the - MADNESS CLUB!"

"Oh heck. Not again." Enzan cursed.

"Mwah, hah, hah! Madness Club Goes Mad with - MADNESS!"


	2. Chapter 2: Operation Trident

**Chapter 2: Operation Trident**

10:10 AM (Japan Time), Friday January the 24th…

"… Well. In the end the second shot which rang out after Hikari got hit met the wall… The man was supposedly a former soldier in some foreign mercenary legion but I'd say the guy's marksmanship was rusted if he failed by a distance of about one to two meters…"

"True, Enzan – sama. He did recover two days ago, right, sir?"

"Yeah. And at least now I can focus on trying to find something out of place here in the Reverse Internet… But there's nothing spectacular in here, really. Just small fry…"

"Heh, heh, heh. That used to be true but starting today you'll be met with more than you wished for. Such is our _scenario_!"

"Who…?"

"Wind Cutter!"

"Huh! Where'd that come from…?"

Blues had been wandering the wildness of the Reverse Internet while being in "Full Synchro" status with Enzan: both had been chatting when a voice rang out a roll of tape was shot on their direction: Blues jumped back just in time.

"Mwah, hah, hah. The magnificent director has come! Lights! Camera! Action! _Video Man_! _I'll be back_!"

"Video Man…?"

A Net Navi jumped down from a higher platform and stood up to his full height while having a smug smile on his face.

His face was colored black and his eyes were colored green.

He had a metallic structure set around and atop the head which included two dials on the sides of it and three connection ports colored yellow, white and red from left to right.

The Net Navi's body's main color was black but he had a round "play" symbol colored green set on the middle of the chest with two round buttons on both sides of it: a shape reminiscent of the Alphabet letter "V" was set above the "play" symbol plus a round circle drawn around on the base of his neck.

His shoulders were shaped like spheroids but were different: the left one was gray metallic while the right one was black with a red dome-shaped piece set atop it.

His arms' "skin" was black in color, too, but he had two parallel circular green stripes set slightly beneath the shoulder: his forearms were metallic and had some kind of tape set on them which interconnected with each other: his hands were colored black, too, and had no outstanding features on either of them.

The rest of his torso was colored black and it had another green-colored shape reminiscent of the Alphabet letter "V" set on it towards the spot where a person's stomach would be at.

His legs had four small "V" shape stripes set on a vertical row around the hips: four of them.

Another two circular stripes parallel to each other were placed around the knees and on the ankles: his feet were shaped like rectangles.

"So you're Video Man… Who else is there?" Blues questioned.

"Your imagination, Holmes!" He laughed.

"Hah, hah. Very funny." Enzan drily replied.

"Your worst nightmare: iced coffee!"

"Come on." Enzan was skeptical by now.

"Your worst accident: slipping on ice and crashing against Meijin – sama thus staining him with the coffee!" He laughed next.

"By all the… This guy's as worse as Superintendent Oda if not crazier. Let's get outta here, Blues."

"Not so fast! Wind Cutter!"

He formed a roll of video-tape which grew in thickness while being fed by the main tape and then shot it forward: its mass and speed combined when hitting Blues sent him flying and crashing hard against the ground three meters away.

"Damn. This guy's no punk." Blues cursed.

"Wasn't this place way too boring for you? We're gonna turn it into an anthill, by Moran!" He laughed.

"You've spoken in plural twice: who else is involved?"

"My staff, obviously enough! I'm the director, after all! And we're filming "A Hero's Shameful Deletion" today! Mwah, hah, hah!"

"By all the… Blues! Combat mode!"

"Roger, sir!"

"Useless!"

He suddenly warped out of his position and appeared again SE of their position while forming the roll of video-tape.

"Wind Cutter!"

"Fumikomizan!"

"Tapeline!"

"No use!"

"Fast Forward!"

"What!"

Blues drew a Long Blade Battle Chip and tried to warp so as to hit Video Man while dodging his roll of video-tape but some loose tapelines began to form across the space thus trying to impede his rush: Blues cut through them but Video Man warped at the last second and Blues had to land on the ground to then look around.

"Mwah, hah, hah! That was good enough. Filming stage is over. Didn't you spot the "REC" symbol on my body? Heh, heh, heh. And now my terrific "Special Ability" comes into play…" Video Man chuckled as he reappeared two meters in front of Blues.

"What!"

"Playback!"

He held the tape between his armlets forward and it produced streams of blue light which expanded to form a cone and a figure materialized: it was an exact copy of Blues yet his emblem had been replaced by Video Man's own one: the "copy Blues" drew a Long Sword and repeated the movements he'd executed before when the "real Blues" had tried to attack Video Man: the "real Blues" barely blocked in time but another one suddenly attacked from the rear followed by another two: he spotted how Video Man was continuously generating an army of "copy Blues" units and laughing.

"See? See? Mwah, hah, hah! You thought the "Darkloids" were hard to chew and they were but… What about yourself, fellow? Are you hard to chew? Are you a rock? Are you a steel plate? Figure it out with your teeth, by Moran!" He laughed.

"Damn. An enemy which can record your movements and then recreate them in the form of a simplistic program which can multiply infinitely! This is nothing like what we've experienced before!" Enzan cursed.

"And if you've got trouble handling ME wait until you meet the high-rank guys and wish you hadn't underestimated US!"

"Who the hell are you guys?" Enzan demanded.

"The Moriarty Gang!"

"The Moriarty Gang…? Oh come on. That's a parody." Enzan groaned while being obviously annoyed.

"Who knows, Mr. Imagination?" He taunted.

"I do. End of the tale, walking VHS."

"I feel the strong…" A voice rang out.

"Huh? Oh fuck. Not that guy!" Enzan cursed.

"Shit." Blues growled.

"Heh, heh, heh. As scheduled." Video Man formed a smirk.

"I've come to take this power…"

"That guy…!" Enzan grumbled.

"Forte…!"

Forte slowly hovered into the area while an aura of power surrounded him and he looked as dry and hostile as always: he seemed to ignore Blues and focused on Video Man.

"You. That power… I'll be taking it. With it… I'll be one step closer… to becoming the Ultimate Net Navi…" He muttered.

"Sadly enough, Forte, I won't be your opponent today. Someone of higher power is waiting to prove to you how vain your power really is. And they're coming…" Video Man smirked.

"Indeed. I am your opponent." A calm voice boomed out of nowhere at that moment.

Some kind of purple-colored vortex formed in the midst of the air and a stream of yellowish light jumped out of it to give way to a new Net Navi which hovered above the area.

This Net Navi could easily be over a meter and eighty tall.

Its helmet design didn't look like a helmet to begin with: the forehead was covered by a diamond-shaped green-colored piece of armor from which two tall and white "antennae" emerged in a 45º inclination: something which looked like a mass of hair colored green formed behind the helmet and expanded downwards in a cone-like manner.

The face's skin was normal and the shape was rather feminine yet a bit androgynous at the same time: the Navi's eye irises were red in color.

Its upper body had a white cloth similar to a sweater with three parallel stripes set on its surface running down its length until it ended half-way across the torso.

The shoulders had greenish four-speared stars built into them and two large white sleeves which extended way past the total length of the arms extended from there: they looked thick and like they had some extra mass inside: they formed shapes reminiscent of the Alphabet "L" character.

The hands emerged from two oval-shaped cavities just where the sleeves formed a 45º turn to aim SW and SE: they were covered in white "gloves" or "skin" and were currently closed.

The rest of the body was colored green and looked like a one-piece suit extending until the middle half of the upper body: two greenish/yellowish stripes ran down the sides of the torso until the hips.

Two greenish/yellowish diamonds were drawn around the knees followed by oval-shaped patterns which ended in a triangle on the ankle: the Navi didn't have the typical boots and the legs ended like they were pants which were larger than usual.

Some light radiated from the Navi's silhouette and made them stand out while emitting a powerful sensation: their gaze was calm and didn't display any emotion at all.

"My name is Slur. I am a ruler." She drily announced.

"Hah! This Navi's power is strong… Very strong… It's way better than that crappy Navi down there… I'll bring you down in one hit!" Forte exclaimed as he rushed over to the Navi named Slur.

"Foolish one. Receive your punishment." She merely muttered with a hint of annoyance.

She aimed her right hand towards Forte and spread it wide: some yellow round spots formed around Forte's body and some wires with metallic cylinders on their ends formed out of them which then spread and tied around his body thus immobilizing him: he tried to break them but they wouldn't yield.

"What the fuck! I'm the strongest Net Navi on the world and I can't break some fucking wires?" He cursed.

"Strongest? Yet you alone could not take down "Greizer", could you? And you are drowning in power." She smugly told him while forming a sinister face.

"Shaddup you fucker!" He scowled.

"Such an immature holder of power cannot be left to wander around: it is but an eyesore and laughs at those who really possess strength. I am one of those. And I am in pair with Serenade if not above him. I shall avenge his fall. Such is the reason I have come here. Yet he would not like of me to delete you: instead I shall have you drown in the endless Universe never to emerge again." She announced as she turned dry and hostile: her eyes glared with obvious repressed anger.

She signaled the sky and drew circle with her right hand's index finger which then became a black-colored vortex similar to a "black hole" sucking everything up: Forte was sucked in and the vortex vanished as quickly as it had formed: she then glanced at Blues who was still struggling with Video Man's copies.

"Video Man." She called out.

"Ma'am!" He kneeled and made a reverence.

"No deletion. Just prove to them how rusted they are. If they HP hits the 1 HP mark then pull back to the base. Understood?"

"Roger, ma'am! Please leave it on the hands of this servant."

"It shall be amusing… Operation Trident has started."

"Operation Trident?" Enzan demanded.

"It shall soon become clear. In the meanwhile do play around and test if you yourself are a worthy fighter or else you need to pass the torch into someone else." She smugly told them.

"T-this jerk…!" Blues grumbled.

"Farewell! Ijuuin Enzan! Blues!"

She formed the purple vortex again and jumped inside of it while Video Man folded his arms and let the 30 "Blues copies" fight against the "real Blues" who was getting overwhelmed.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! How's this one for a change? _No pain no gain_! Heh, heh! Sweat! Sweat! Struggle! Struggle!" He laughed.

"Shaddup! You! Walking VHS!" Enzan cursed.

"Wait, Enzan – sama… If that guy is a VHS then…" Blues whispered something he'd thought of.

"Of course…! Why didn't I think of that one before…? Battle Chip, Heavy Shake!"

Blues formed the Heavy Shake Battle Chip and set it vertically to then climb atop it: the copies didn't mind and began to jump towards him while Video Man laughed.

"Useless! Truly useless!"

"Battle Chip, Elec Sword! GO~!"

Blues jumped into the air and then hit the Heavy Shake with the Elec Sword: the result was a sudden roar as some kind of wave spread across the area and the copies were all wiped: Video Man's jaw hit the floor and he looked incredulous.

"I-impossible! Playback!"

The copy which came out was blurry and its movements were incredibly slow: Video Man looked baffled but then found Blues behind him having the Elec Sword placed right next to Video Man's neck.

"Magnetism." He merely said.

"Oh shit! My greatest weakness followed by humidity!" He cursed.

"That's the problem of using a VHS: it's too delicate. DVDs are susceptible to magnetism too but VHS is more easily damaged."

"Damn them all! I'll remember this humiliation! Eject!"

He suddenly warped outta the area while Blues sighed in relief and looked around him at the empty panorama: the only thing which could be heard was the howling of the wind.

"By Merton! There's a conspiracy here."

"Superintendent Oda. Couldn't you knock on the door before entering? I was concentrated maintaining "Full Synchro" with Blues!" Enzan protested in the real world.

"Uncle Merton says that guy's Uncle Moran is his half-brother."

"Very funny!"

"Meijin ate a spicy donut. Wanna try it out?" Oda asked.

"There aren't spicy donuts!" Enzan grumbled.

"Who says there aren't?"

"Common sense, sir."

"Common Sense Man?"

"I'm off. Plug Out, Blues!"

"Roger, sir!"

Blues returned inside of Enzan's PET and projected outside with the hologram to see Enzan leaving the office and shutting the door on the way out: he grumbled something under his breath.

"How lovely. Forte gets beaten, there's a jerk which almost beats me to a pulp and that Slur gal who seems to be the head of some gang or another different from what we've met before." He summed up.

"So it'd seem, sir."

"Ijuuin – kun! Uncle Merton wants to recruit you for his new CM!" Oda called out from the room.

"I'm off. I can't stand that silliness anymore!"

05:49 AM (Moscow Time)…

"… Patrol 11. Status?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, sir…"

"All sectors are normal, sir."

"Good. Report back in 30 minutes."

"Too bad. It turns out that your security has holes everywhere like a two-cent boat. I've left a trail of burnt corpses behind me: I'm surprised you haven't spotted them already, Mr. Universe. Or rather… Search Man EXE of the Sharo Army…!"

"Who…?"

"Burning Jet!"

"Whack!"

"Mwah, hah, hah! No – one stops the grand and magnificent Burner Man – sama~!"

Search Man of the Sharo Army's 13th Network Unit had been speaking with another two Net Navis regarding the patrols when a voice rang out and someone suddenly rammed into him knocking him into the ground and then dashing forward while leaving a trail of heat and flames behind them on their wake.

"Mwag, hah, hah!"

The Net Navi known as Burner Man struck as being around a meter and sixty tall or above,

His head was surrounded by a blood red metallic helmet which had two of those fang-like objects set on both sides of it: his emblem was set on the forehead and its drawing was a simplistic oval-shaped flame colored sky blue.

His eyes didn't have irises on them and were colored blue while a grin covered his face.

Red metallic armor was built over his upper body and it had four metallic objects shaped like fangs set over the shoulders: each one had a yellow stripe close to the backwards edge which had a small blackish metallic cover on it.

His shoulders were oddly placed lower than they should be at, half-way down the upper body: two short black arms without elbows emerged from them and ended in long cylinders colored red with a yellow stripe and having black hands at their end: the emblem was repeated there.

The body below the armor had armor with some vertical stripes set on them: his legs were free of armor until just past the knee: two cylinders with the same coloring pattern as the ones in the arms were set there and two armored feet with black soils emerged from below them.

"Heh! I burn 'em all!"

"How did you get inside?" Search Man demanded as he stood up and aimed the Scope Gun at him.

"Something called emergency exit?" He grinned.

"Damn it. They were supposed to be alarm-rigged by now!"

"By now but I guess it'll be by the year 2020 at this rate. Or make 2033 when the world will go mad and we'll have to live in the Moscow Metro Tunnels." He laughed and formed a smug smile.

"What do you want?" Search Man demanded next.

"Try cha out." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Is that all?" He didn't seem to think that was all.

"For the time being." He shrugged again.

"You aren't alone." He guessed.

"Nope. But Boss said I'd be enough. I guess that red punk in Japan's having one hell of a time by now." He laughed.

"Red punk in Japan…? You mean Blues?"

"Yessir. My pal has a very special ability which even that punk can't possibly overcome. But enough chit-chat. I'm gonna turn you into soldier to the BBQ!"

"Damn. Scope Gun!"

"Slow! Strike Burner!"

"Damn. This guy's no joke…!"

"Who said I was a joke?"

Burner Man suddenly aimed his burners at Search Man and he barely dodged the two streams of bluish flames which claimed to be the hottest possible flames: Search Man took position again and cursed aloud while Burner Man formed a smug smile again.

"Burning… Jet!"

He expanded his arms and legs just as the burners set around his head turned on and he formed a stream of fire from his forehead: he rushed on forward while leaving a trail of heat and flames behind him and rammed into Search Man.

"Satellite Ray! Search Grenades!"

He formed a small satellite which shot a laser at Burner Man from behind but had no visible effect followed by three grenades which exploded in front of him: none had any visible effect while Burner Man dashed around the room forming orange-tinted flames to encircle Search Man: he stopped and formed another smug smile.

"Uncle Moran says you're cheap!" He laughed.

"Uncle Moran…? Your Operator…?" Search Man guessed.

"Heh! We don't need an Operator! We're just like the "Darkloid" and the "Dark Four Heavenly Kings"… Independent Model Net Navis! We've banded together and will make you guys sweat!" Burner Man told Search Man while laughing.

"Shit." He cursed.

"Starting to realize your own uselessness, Mr. Soldier?"

"Shut up. Nobody insults the Sharo Army and lives to tell it."

"Heh! We'll see 'bout that, Comrade Zakarov."

"What's going on?" Laika asked.

"Laika – sama: an enemy has intruded the system."

"Not "an" enemy: THE Burner Man – sama!" He laughed.

"What are you?" Laika demanded.

"A grunt." He shrugged his shoulders.

"So there are guys more powerful than you?"

"You'd be surprised, Comrade Ivan."

"Don't screw me." Laika grumbled.

"No. I'll send you a Sharo doll with a flask of Red Bull inside of it for your entertainment." Burner Man grinned.

"This guy…!" Laika hissed.

"Laika – sama, sir! Do not fall into the enemy's trap, sir!"

"Che!"

"Uncle Moran would rather pick a plane and get outta the country 'cause there might be a cataclysm somewhere and someday." He muttered as if thinking aloud.

"What cataclysm?"

"Use your imagination, rookie." He taunted next.

"Burner Man. Do not waste time. Proceed with Operation Trident. Show them how powerless they really are and then pull back to the base so that we can execute Phase 3." A voice commanded over his radio: the tone was dull and unemotional.

"Roger, Boss." He acknowledged.

"Who goes there?" Search Man demanded.

"… Slur." The voice replied.

"Slur?" Laika wondered.

"We are here to… judge you."

"Judge us? What have we done?" Search Man asked.

"It is not what you have done but what you can do. We are here to judge your strength and ability and see if you deserve holding the torch the mighty Serenade bestowed into you." Slur told them.

"Se-Serenade…? You knew him?" Laika gasped.

"I did. That is all you need to know for the time being. Burner Man. Do not give them any interludes. Do unleash your fires of ruin. Farewell, Laika of Sharo and Search Man."

"Alright! Boss said to give you trouble and that's what I'm gonna do! Full power! Burning Jet! Burning Strike! Burning Sword!"

"Guwra~h!"

"Search Man!"

Burner Man rammed into Search Man, bathed him on flames and then made burning cuts to his armor while stomping over his body: he laughed and then jumped into the air to form a spheroid of blue flames which he threw at the ground to set in on flames: Search Man roared in agony and was left beaten while Burner Man landed back on the ground.

"What. That's all? You've turned soft. I expected more from the so-famous Sharo Army. Guess Boss is right and you haven't been training to stand up to an opponent like me." Burner Man laughed.

"Fuck." Laika hissed.

"Well. I'm off. Guess VHS Man is done with the red punk so we'll compare notes. _No pain no gain_! Mwa, hah, hah! Spiked Man will soon go visit the third in the list too… Heh, heh, heh!"

20:44 PM (Washington Time), Thursday January the 23rd…

"… Man. This watching post is so boring. Why couldn't they send us to the front?"

"Wars are gonna get closer to home, rookie. The hostile governments are developing newer tools for Cyber War. It's our duty to be on watch because they can strike anytime."

"Yeah. You two. Behave."

"Che! That Tomahawk Man guy… He gotta think he's the boss."

"Chut! Watch your trap, rookie. That guy's Mr. Colonel' favorite and if you insult him you insult him you insult Mr. Colonel and you get a martial court…"

Two Navis affiliated to the Ameroupe Army had been standing watch when one began to complain and the other corrected him: Tomahawk Man walked past and the rookie began to grumble only to be corrected by his superior again.

"Fuck. Had I known this I wouldn't have enlisted."

"And I'm telling you there's no need to travel so far because war is gonna knock at our door sooner or later."

"Shah, shah, sha~h! Yessir! That's the reality! Needle Cannon!"

"Uwra~h!"

"What in the tomahawk?"

"Yo! Tonma Man! What's up? Shah, shah, shah!"

"Who the heck?"

"Heh, heh, heh, heh! Needle Man's come to bust 'em all with spiky needles! Shah, shah, shah, sha~h!"

"Needle Man? Who's that? A buddy of yours, Tomahawk Man?"

"Come on, Dingo."

Needle Man's upper body was shaped like a circle with a dome over it: the color of his choice was navy blue: the front part of the circle had a rectangular vertical cavity cut out with eight slightly curved metallic pieces set in a vertical row.

His face's skin was black, too, he had no nose, his eyes colored yellow with red irises and a smug smile was drawn on his face: a small red vertical rectangle was set on the forehead.

Four needles came out of the dome part of the body (and having an orange circular edge circling the spot from where they sprouted out from) around the head which was drawn inside of a larger needle.

His arms were human-like given how they were attached to the body: orange-colored bands split it in two halves with the upper half being colored navy blue and the lower half tinted sky blue: a needle came out of each shoulder, too: four blackish long fingers were set on the arms.

The armor ended below the torso: the rest of his body's skin was plain black in color plus a small orange spot below the upper body.

The boots began over the knees and followed the same pattern as in the arms: a needle came out from the armor over each knee: they had a small hollow cavity cut close to the heel.

"Needle Cannon! Eat this!"

"Tomahawk Swing!"

Needle Man transformed his arms into cannon barrels and shot a string of small cone-shaped needles towards Tomahawk Man who swung his tomahawk across the air and cut them all to Needle Man's surprise given how he gasped.

"Tomahawk Air Raid!"

"Whack!"

"Gotcha, ugly."

"Why, you~…!" He cursed.

"Come."

"Che! Needle Attack!"

"Totem – sama!"

The totem formed behind Tomahawk Man and he began to glow with a greenish light as Needle Man enlarged the needles of his body and tried to ram into Tomahawk Man who grinned.

"Meteors!"

"Wha~t?"

Some meteors formed on the sky and began to rain down on Needle Man as he got stuck unable to pierce the field of green energy protecting Tomahawk Man: he yelped as his needles were shattered and one hit him from behind dropping him into the floor: Tomahawk Man aimed one side of the tomahawk towards his neck.

"Speak."

"Yikes! I'm a grunt!"

"Guessed as much. _Whose_ grunt?"

"Uncle Moran's!"

"Uncle Moran's? Gotta be a genius." Dingo muttered while looking distracted.

"Come on. I don't buy that." Tomahawk Man was skeptical.

"What's going on?"

"Ah! Colonel! See: the intruder."

"Good job."

"Yikes! Colonel too! Shah, shah, shah! Those two are gonna turn me into the laughter of the club for the whole week! Damn i~t!" He cursed with obvious frustration.

"Who do you mean?" Colonel demanded as he aimed his sword at him.

"Eh… VHS Man and Burn-Run Man!"

"They sound so idiotic that I don't believe those are their names even though I'm sure you came here by someone's command."

"And that would be me. Slur." Her voice rang out from the radio.

"Slur?"

"Colonel. Serenade has talked me about you." She announced.

"You knew Serenade? Why didn't he tell me?" He looked slightly surprised by the announcement.

"Serenade was very reserved, do not you remember?"

"True." He admitted.

"I have sent this pawn here to see if you deserve holding the torch he passed into you… Or else someone else should accept it… I have picked the strongest… Two have failed. Your subordinate passes. I see why Serenade trusted you: if you infused so much strength into this one then you are clearly very strong." Slur told him.

"Of course. Serenade trusted in me when he told me the secret of the Cybeasts." He confirmed.

"Just think of this as an examination. No personal feelings: I am just trying to see what Serenade contemplated in you before his demise. Yet that which makes your blood boil is no longer in this world and shall never return so the spirit of Serenade will be laid to rest. Return, Needle Man, and learn from your mistakes. Farewell, Colonel and Tomahawk Man of the Ameroupe Army." She added at the end of her speech.

A purple swirling vortex formed underneath Needle Man and he was sucked in before it closed.

"A friend of Serenade… We are being tested… Serenade… True… We need to prove if we deserve holding his torch… It sounds like Serenade, alright…"

"Guess that…" Barrel muttered.

18:55 PM (Japan Time), Friday January the 24th…

"… Operation Trident's outcome is 2F and 1S… I guess I win the bet, don't I, _partner_?"

"Jeez. The irony of my name, really. The sniper guy says I think I'm number one but that's not it. You win, yeah. How much had we staked?"

"10Z."

"Oh! 10Z? Of course. Our rules forbid bets over 100Z so as to not to trigger internal conflict…"

"You can hand them over another day. We gotta finish preparing for tomorrow's evening. Operation Legs is to happen and you're the one who is gonna be on the field."

"I knew that. The President briefed me this morning. So the whole point of it is to show them what we can really do when it comes to the real world, eh?"

"Yeah. Hey, A. What do you think about B-X? Will he succeed?"

"I'm sure of it: B-X is a strong guy."

"Thanks, A."

Two unidentified guys were riding in a discreet black Toyota car and along an expressway: they were chatting while two Navis also joined the conversation without projecting with the PET's holograms.

"Anyway. I'll be waiting on the rendezvous point. Just follow the program and all will go as smooth as silk." The passenger told the driver with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Roger. Heh, heh, heh. And I think our little present to the Net Police will surprise them. I can't wait to see their reactions…" The driver chuckled and sounded amused.

"If only they knew… That this is just the beginning…"

The four of them chuckled aloud while the car faded into the evening…


	3. Chapter 3: Akihara City Hotel

**Chapter 3: Akihara City Hotel**

17:45 PM (Japan Time), Saturday January the 25th…

"… Hello there! Obihiro – kun. Trying to hook Ijuuin – kun for tonight, maybe?"

"Superintendent, sir! That was mean, sir!"

"Don't go by clichés. We were discussing what happened yesterday so go away if you don't have any useful extra info."

"My, my. I do have one: someone bothered to deliver it to my mailbox along with this computer-written note which says "_Check it out!_" and thus says everything. Ta-dan!"

"Hmpf… Let's check it out then."

Obihiro Shun (who'd grown up to a meter and forty by now yet he kept on wearing his usual clothing) and Enzan had been talking inside of a small office in the Net Police HQ when Oda came in while carrying a CD case with a rewritable CDRW+ inside of it: both looked annoyed at his jokes but finally fumed and stepped away to let Oda walk over to the laptop they were working with so that he could insert the CD: an application demanding a password popped up.

"Alright. Lemme handle this." Obihiro muttered.

He began to bring up some programs of his own and to quickly type some commands: he then entered the word "SECRET" as a password and the contents of the CD turned out to be a small video clip labeled "SECRET FILES" which Obihiro double clicked upon.

"… The greatest ship ever built is ready to sail into its maiden voyage and conquer the seas…! Its name… _Titanic_! Don't miss James Cameron's spectacular Oscar award – winning drama! Now in DVD for your enjoyment!"

Both youngsters looked totally unimpressed as they turned to glare at Superintendent Oda who began to sweat and tried to articulate a word but failed as he held out his hands.

"I t-thought that…"

"You got trolled and you dragged us into it too." Obihiro coolly told him with a skeptical glare.

"But why would someone bother to put and password and everything then?" Oda argued.

"To make you believe it's gotta be something important… It can't have taken even 45 minutes for someone to build this. Have it back, sir, and have a good afternoon. I thought you were supposed to go watch on that man, Hosoyoda Jeniro, in the Akihara City Hotel?" Obihiro brought up as he handed it back to Oda.

"By Merton. I knew I was forgetting something." He gasped.

"Who is that man? A Yakuza boss?"

"No, no. The VP of a big construction company which is being checked by some of the Money CID guys given how they've been hiding money and allocating permits in a hush-hush manner… They asked for our help in case he tries to hide the data in the hotel during the conference and aperitif organized by the Public Construction Ministry." Oda turned serious and cleared his throat.

"Ah. So? Who are gonna handle the field?"

"Higure and I've got Meijin there too… You gotta remember how he quit travelling and showing around and decided to become a collaborator plus instructor…" Oda announced.

"Higure, huh. Well. Is there any specific reason why you picked on him or you followed a trail?"

"We found something intriguing: the one giving him the bribes is named Wholy Jisep."

"WHAT? Wholy Jisep? But wasn't that the name which that Koyota man used to invite us onboard the _SS Scherezade Symphony_?"

"True. And it has a meaning to it too."

"What meaning?" Enzan asked.

"Well. If we write it down in Alphabet and try all possible anagram combinations then we get… _Joseph Wily_. We questioned Kyundai again and he admitted that was the name of one of the old man's bank accounts so he decided to give himself an alteration."

"But if Koyota and Konda are dead plus Kyundai is on the brig… Who the hell is using that name by now?" Enzan frowned.

"Dunno. That's what we hoped to find out by watching over the guy during the party. Higure, being a civilian, will not call the attention and he'll pass as a photographer."

"Alright. And we'll be waiting to come in if the guy meets with someone or tries to get rid of some data or another…" Enzan deduced.

"So! Let's go. Higure is already in position and the event begins at 18:25 PM so we're somewhat tight on time. See you, Obihiro – kun, and beware of spicy cookies." He grinned.

"There _aren't_ spicy cookies." Obihiro grumbled.

"Who knows, Mr. Smith?"

"You do, sir, and you're going to be _late_." He warned.

"Ops. Then I better borrow the bat-mobile."

Enzan rolled his eyes and slapped his face as he followed Superintendent Oda out of the room and into the hall to ride into an elevator: he began to hum a tune as the elevator climbed down and Enzan focused on some text he displayed over the PET's holographic screen: the elevator pinged once it reached the basement and Oda headed for a greenish Hyundai: Enzan frowned and thought about something.

_How curious. Konda, Koyota, Kyundai… Of course… They're corruptions of Honda, Toyota and Hyundai… Since they changed their names each one picked after their favorite cars…_

"Uncle Merton says my car is magic! Mwah, hah, hah!"

18:24 PM (Japan Time)…

"… It's about to start, Yamitarou…"

"Alright, de masu…"

"Uncle Merton to Higure! What's up, man?"

"Ah! Superintendent Oda, sir… De masu. Hosoyoda looks pretty nervous, sir, yet he hasn't repaired on me, de masu. He has to make any contact with anyone, de masu, but has done nothing odd… He's on a corner near the stage, de masu…"

"Alright. Keep your sight on the guy: we've met some traffic jam or another organized by Uncle Makarov so we'll be a bit late. Beware of spicy tuna."

"There's no spicy tuna!"

Higure Yamitarou had been talking in whispers with Number Man as he stood inside of a hall filled with several persons and having some tables with snacks set on them: the far end had a stage and a table with microphones and chairs set there plus a projection screen where the speakers would be sitting at: he'd put on a black suit over his usual shirt and carried a Cannon digital camera as well: he was speaking through a wireless earphone and microphone hidden on his right ear.

"Who knows, Mr. Walking Calculator?" Oda laughed.

"I do!" Number Man protested.

"Beware of Uncle Smithson's tricks!"

"Stop making up non-existent persons, sir!" Number Man grumbled.

"De masu… And he's a _superintendent_…" Higure sighed.

He glanced at the stage and saw how the five speakers were taking their posts: Hosoyada, a man on his 40s with brownish hair and some beard plus brownish eyes was standing near the left wall and sipping water from time to time while nervously glancing around the room: Higure stepped back to avoid being spotted.

"He's turning nervous again… De masu…"

"Good, good. Uncle Pressure is chasing him." Oda laughed.

"Drive, sir, if you want to make it." Enzan grumbled.

"Or should I drive the car?" Blues asked.

"Alright, I'll do it, no need to complain."

Higure sighed and then spotted how a young waiter came in pushing a trolley having some dishes with snacks set on it: he wore a typical waiter's clothes plus shoes and didn't appeal to be over a meter and sixty yet in height.

His eyes' irises were emerald green and his jet black hair was totally uncared for having small spikes aiming everywhere: he looked around fifteen or sixteen years old.

_Young men start working soon nowadays, de masu…_

The lights dimmed and the presentation began so Higure sneaked closer to Hosoyada who was looking at the stage.

"Good evening and welcome to our exposition on this year's higher-class construction projects…"

Higure ignored the speakers and spotted Hosoyada constantly glancing at his wrist-watch as if expecting something or someone: he looked up around the room but quickly looked at the ground again while he nervously sipped some water.

"He's totally hysteric by now, de masu… He seems to be expecting something to happen, de masu…" He whispered.

"Uncle Jeremy is going to prophesize that he'll lose his book titled "money" by bumping into his ex-girlfriend on the street." Oda laughed.

"Light's green! We're still 10 minutes away! Speed up!"

"Alright, Speeding Man."

"T-this man…! Grah! Someone slam the brakes on this man!"

"Slamming Brakes Girl will put up a show for you, Ijuuin – kun, or so they say." Oda laughed.

"WHO says THAT?" Enzan began to increase his voice's volume.

"Uncle Anatole."

"A Frenchman or what?" Enzan deduced.

"The uncle of my good old friend Séraphin Lampion of "Mondass" Insurances…" Oda sounded proud of the fact.

"Jeez." Enzan grumbled.

"Current time 18:34:46 PM, de masu…"

Hosoyoda began to look around again and suddenly stopped while being fixated in the opposite wall: Higure glanced there but saw nothing and no-one: Hosoyada remained fixed and Higure suddenly picked a strange low-tuned sound.

_What's that sound? De masu?_

"Yamitarou…! I can feel the noise of some device turning on but it doesn't match with any of the devices here…" Number Man whispered.

"Unless someone is trolling, de masu…" He frowned.

"18:34:58 PM… Huh? _What's that_?"

"De masu!"

A circle of white light suddenly formed on Hosoyoda's feet and expanded to cover the whole diameter of his body before expanding as a vertical column of light and then Hosoyada's body began to disappear until nothing was left behind: the shaft of light began to turn thinner and then vanished altogether along with the circle and the sound: Higure was too fixed on that spot along with everyone else to spot how the waiter came out of the room while having a smirk on his face and his eyes glowing with amusement: he shut the door silently while everyone was fixated on that spot: whispers and muttering began to ring out and Higure's jaw had hit the floor by now.

"… Oi, Higure! What's going on there? We're still 6 minutes from the spot but you've been quiet! And what's with the background noise?" Oda called out.

"De masu! You won't believe this, sir! Hosoyoda _vanished into thin air without actually moving_! De masu!"

"W-w-w-WHAT?" Oda uttered.

"What in the world?" Enzan gasped.

"I'm serious! De masu! A white circle formed on the feet of the man and became a column of light! De masu! His body began to be _erased_ and nothing has been left behind! De masu! And then the whole thing vanished as quickly as it had begun with a strange sound! De masu! It can't have lasted 30 seconds even! De masu!" He reported.

"By all the…"

There was a sound and then the police siren began to ring out on the background along with the roar of the engine.

"Get to the lobby. We'll meet there."

"Roger, de masu…"

Higure came out of the room and stepped into the elevator to head towards the lobby: he sighed and looked at the ground.

"Did I dream it, de masu?"

"No, Yamitarou. I saw it myself too."

"What in the world was that? De masu?"

"I don't know but I'm sure there was some device which triggered it given the abnormal sound… It sounded like it was igniting and then like it was shutting down…" Number Man told him.

"Huh, huh… I don't think we'll ever figure out what happened there… De masu!" He grimly muttered.

"Don't be so defeatist, Yamitarou!"

Higure came out into the lobby and saw a black Toyota come out of the parking exit and run away: he seemed to frown.

"Black Toyota, de masu… Could it be related, de masu… They looked like they were in a rush, de masu…"

He then spotted Oda's Hyundai brusquely halting in front of the lobby while having the police light set on the roof: Oda and Enzan jumped out and rushed inside.

"Where the hell did Hosoyoda go off to?" Oda asked.

"I don't know! De masu!"

"We believe there was some unknown device involved."

"Unknown device… Don't you have any other hints?" Enzan asked while looking nervous.

"I recorded the sound but I don't think it'll of much help." Number Man admitted with a sigh.

"It'll be a hint." Enzan insisted.

"Well. Listen to it."

He played it back and everyone remained silent: both Enzan and Blues nodded in negation so Oda sighed.

"We'll have to ask all witnesses… I'm ringing HQ and we should place "WANTED" signs out there too…" He muttered as he drew his cell-phone and flipped it open.

"Anything else?" Enzan asked.

"Not really, de masu… A young waiter who just brought in more food and a black Toyota which ran off before you came, de masu…"

"A black Toyota… And a young waiter…? Hmmm… Maybe there's a relationship between each two… We'll have to check the parking's logs and CCTV cameras… If any…" Enzan muttered.

_What the hell is going around here?_

18:57 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Heh, heh, heh. So? How was it like? _Partner_."

"Terrific."

The two persons onboard the black Toyota were chatting: the one in the passenger seat today was the young waiter who'd changed into a black wool sweater, a pair of jeans and black boots plus fingerless gloves and sunglasses: he had a smug smile on his face.

He carried a strapped Link PET with a golden Alphabet "X" character as an emblem and colored blue and white.

The driver couldn't be properly seen due to the poor lighting but it could be seen that they had a brown coat on.

"By the way… What was in that CD you bothered to deliver to that Oda guy, anyway?" The passenger asked.

"A little trolling item… A trailer for James Cameron's _Titanic_ protected by a silly password which was amateur enough to make the Net Police guys thinks he got trolled by a prankster and discarded it as having any meaning to begin with. The Vice President gave me the idea. He's got bright ideas, yeah. As expected of the guy…" The driver formed a smug smile.

"And his right-hand man…" The driver's Navi added with a hint of amusement to his voice.

"Isn't the guy somewhat of a Darth Sidious fan? I mean… He always has that black monk's robe on and I've never seen his face. I know I'm in the other department but still…" The passenger brought up.

"Don't mind it. The VP is the VP. That's all there's to it, really. I'll drop you close to the base and then go to my place. I need some rest." The driver calmly replied.

"Alright. And I'm gonna try to remind the sniper guy that my name doesn't mean "one" as in the number "one" too… I hope he's not blanking out this time around or else I'll go mad with impatience."

"Give him some time… It's natural for him to be closed and such taking into account where he came from…" The driver replied.

"I know. Maybe I should try asking if he's heard of Bert Saxby and how Willard Whyte fired the guy?" The passenger grinned.

"Jeez. That gag is overused." The passenger's Navi complained with a hint of annoyance.

"Who knows, B – X?"

"You do, Operator."

"Maybe I should tell him the sniper gal wants to bring him to a shooting spree and then he'll react?" The passenger grinned.

"Be serious." The driver told him.

"Alright, alright… No need to get annoyed…"

"Mail from the President…" "B – X" reported.

"What does he say?" The passenger eagerly asked.

"… "Splendid." … That's all."

"Good, good! He's gotta have heard to the radio broadcast of 7PM by the Akihara Radio! Heh, heh, heh. I guess the "Ice Queen" gal will greet me with a smug smile tonight and tell me I'm a naughty guy." The passenger chuckled.

"Guess so. What do you think, A?" The driver asked his Navi.

"Let's let them be, Operator." The Navi simply replied.

"Operation Legs: success!" The passenger grinned.

"Heh. Ijuuin Enzan… Sooner or later… You'll know about us. And being the fine-breed hound you are… You'll be hooked in. And you won't stop until you try to get to our very core… Come!" The driver smirked.

"Our "Enigma" is here for you to crack it…" "A" added.

The car speeded on forward and was swallowed by the night…


	4. Chapter 4: Hide and seek

**Chapter 4: Hide and seek**

18:04 PM (Japan Time), Friday January the 31st…

"… And regarding the Akihara City Hotel disappearance police suspect the usage of some device which created an optical illusion which was then used by the incriminated Hosoyoda – dono to flee the hall while everyone stared at the illusion…"

"… Nah… That's not it: I'm sure of it. But not even I know the explanation to that bizarre happening…"

"Next: sports…"

"Off you go."

Obihiro turned off the radio of his PET and sighed as he leant back on his chair inside of the small workspace he used inside of one of the Net Police's HQ floors: he rubbed his eyes and glanced at some graphs and displays of information occupying the whole of his laptop's screen with obvious boredom.

"Jeez. It wasn't funny to have to expose a lady on her late 20s who works in the computing department as a cyber stalker because I got mails trying to incite me to do illegal stuff like going to a club and such. And then I got threats from the boyfriend who got processed too… Why don't they pick on someone of their size and stop being so bully?" He grumbled with obvious annoyance on his voice.

"Because Bully Man guides them in their nightmares?" Oda joked as he popped his head into the workspace.

"Superintendent Oda, sir. Uncle Moran has presented a complain of insults to his pride and wants to have a showdown with you on the High Court apart from giving explanations to the current Chief of the Net Police…" Obihiro improvised so as to shake him off.

"Is that so? Then I'm gonna storm his garage with my Harley – Davidson after sending a berserk subway to chase him! Heh, heh!"

"Jeez."

"Attention everyone! Uncle Moran wants to bring us to court!"

"What?"

"Uncle Moran…?"

"Who's that?"

"Dunno…"

"Sounds so improbable…"

"I'd heard about that on Twitter by now!"

"Sure thing!"

"He's making it up again!"

"You never know, ladies and gentlemen!"

"Shoo, shoo!"

"Alright, alright. Take my Harley – Davidson and if you don't believe I have one then take the subway: you won't have to pay for the gasoline spent after all!" He laughed.

Obihiro's PET vibrated and he checked a small pop-up:

"Omenda – san meeting, 19:30 PM"

"Oh crap! Omenda – san! I was forgetting about our meeting to discuss the new hacking trends and how to reinforce security so as to prevent grave attacks… And to topple that he's on his villa 20km from here which doesn't have any real bus linking… Guess I'll have to ask of Hikari – hakase to give me a ride there. It may take as much as 30 minutes to get there depending on the traffic so I better get on the move now." He muttered aloud.

He dialed a number on the PET and Hikari Yuuichirou appeared on-screen while being in his Science Labs office judging the background.

"Oh! Obihiro – kun. It's been a while."

"Eh… Hakase, could I ask a small favor out of you, sir?"

"Sure. What do you need?"

"Eh… If it's not much asking… I'd wish for you to give me a lift to a friend's house outside the metropolis… I've got a scheduled meeting with him at 19:30 and I want to be there on time so…" He blushed and scratched the back of his head.

"No problem. I'll come pick you in about 20 minutes."

"Thank you, sir."

"It's nothing, really."

Obihiro smiled and shut down his laptop to store it inside of his case: he picked his coat next and headed out of the floor and into the lobby where he found Meijin grumbling and mumbling while sipping some of his usual coffee.

"What happened, Meijin – san?"

"Superintendent Oda AGAIN! He told me his Uncle Merton would come and invite me to the Mines of Moria! I asked why and he pulled a pun on me because "Mellon" is the password to the doors! Mellon and Merton sound alike so…!" He grumbled.

"That was lame, sir."

"Totally! Grah! Punk! What should I do? Do I toss the coffee over his head or I do not?" He impatiently asked.

"Eh… I don't think that'd be a good idea, really."

"Grjtx! I need to calm down, really!" Meijin grumbled.

Obihiro rolled his eyes and stepped into the elevator to head down into the lobby: he waited near the doors and brought a _tankobon_ out of his backpack to read before he spotted a simplistic white Honda which pulled up in front of the building: Obihiro rushed towards it and climbed onboard where he was greeted by Yuuichirou.

"Thank you very much, sir. I'm sorry to bother you but I just remembered about this meeting a little while ago, sir…"

"Oh. Don't mind it. Can you give me instructions?"

"Roger, sir… The villa is named Omenda, after the owner."

"Omenda? Isn't he that computer security expert that sometimes shows up on magazines about computing?" Yuuichirou recalled.

"Correct. I met him last year in one conference and he'd heard of my skills so we had a nice chat and got along pretty well."

"Well then, I guess he won't mind if I consult him regarding a little something we're working on the Science Labs… He's also a _freelance_ programmer, isn't he?"

"He is… Alright, please pick the E45 expressway and head in the direction of Gunma Prefecture and then pick exit 32. I'll give you further instructions to reach his villa, sir…"

"Roger."

"By the way… How's Netto – kun? Ever since he announced his exit from the Net Police's Cyber CID last year when his license expired I've barely seen anything of him… I heard about what happened in the ship cruise from Ijuuin – kun but…"

"Oh, Netto? Well. He's immersed in the studies and his marks, like last year's, are excellent. He's told us that he and Rock Man agreed to quit playing around and get serious. He thinks there are strong people out there who can handle perfectly without being dependent on him or Rock Man… He recovered pretty well from the wound and such too: tonight he and his classmates are going to have some party at Ayanokouji – chan's place…" Yuuichirou smiled.

"Oh… Ayanokouji – san's place… I went there once: it's HUGE!"

"As expected of the Gabcom Inc. president!"

"Really… Oh! This is the crossroad: please pick the right-hand road and then it's about three minutes of driving…"

"Alright…"

The car soon pulled to a stop in front of a small wooden cottage which looked uninhabited given the lack of lights: both climbed out and Obihiro climbed up the steps to reach the front door and ring the bell.

"It's just 19:03 PM so we're early." He muttered.

"I hope he doesn't think I'm intruding." Yuuichirou muttered.

"He talks highly of you, sir, so I don't think so." Obihiro smiled as he kept on pressing the bell.

"Maybe he's on the restroom?" Yuuichirou wondered.

"Oh. Could be, yeah… Hmmm?"

He suddenly spotted something sticking out from beneath the "WELCOME" carpet and picked it to see that it was the cottage's key: he frowned.

"Weird. He hasn't come yet? Now that you mention it… His car isn't here either… Maybe he's late. Let's get inside and warm the cottage up before he comes." Obihiro suggested.

"Why not…" Yuuichirou calmly shrugged his shoulders.

Both stepped inside and closed the door: Obihiro immediately turned on a heater and the lights before spotting a desk with a computer's screen, keyboard and mouse set atop it along with a sealed envelope: Obihiro walked over to it and checked it.

"Why. It's addressed to me. Let's see… Huh? E~H?"

"What's wrong?" Yuuichirou asked.

"Listen, sir! ... "Obihiro – kun. I've left this letter behind at the cottage because I didn't trust the phone or the mail. I did something stupid and now it's too late to pull out of it. I should've told you earlier but I thought that I'd be able to figure out who this "Wholy Jisep" man was using my skills but they were not enough. If it's you then maybe you can figure out who they are and why they wanted an energy conversion program which I have to hand over by tomorrow." …" Obihiro began reading.

"Wholy Jisep…! That name again…!"

"… "Thus I'm going to leave the completed program here and you can make a copy of it for analysis: maybe you can ask your Net Police Cyber CID colleagues to give you a hand in the matter too. A mail regarding the place of our meeting will come tonight at 19:30 PM thus why I requested of you to come at this time. Regarding me, I've gone to Kyushu for a while until things cool down. Sorry for dragging you into this. I was stupid because I got tempted by the level of skill needed and the reward, half of which they forwarded to me via cash which I couldn't trace. I'll contact you once this silly tale is over. Omenda." … Whoa."

"19:12 PM… We should turn on the computer and be on standby to see if the mail comes in." Yuuichirou muttered as he checked his wrist-watch and then sighed.

"Yeah. Guess so… Here are the account name and password… I'll turn on the computer…" Obihiro muttered.

"Put some background music too if you may… I feel nervous and I want to hear something else." Yuuichirou requested.

"Roger, sir. Maybe I can look for videos in YouTube to kill the time while keeping the mailbox open and ready…"

The wait continued without any conversation between both of them as they felt the tension rise: the wind began to howl and snow fell around the area as well while Obihiro played some YouTube videos with music to kill the time: he sighed and then glanced at the task-bar's clock.

"Hmmm… 19:28 PM… Let's go into the mailbox and refresh it."

"It must be about to come…" Yuuichirou muttered.

"19:29:18 PM…!" Obihiro nervously muttered.

"Let's see where they'll have us go to…"

"19:29:31 PM…!"

"Let's kill this damned suspense already."

"19:29:47 PM…!"

"A bar…? A park…? A road…? A plaza…?" Yuuichirou wondered.

"19:29:54 PM…!"

"Or maybe a hotel…"

"19:29:58 PM…!"

"Oh come on! This clock wants to further the suspense or what? Let it be 19:30 hours already!" Yuuichirou grumbled.

PING!

"Mail! From "wholyjisep NRO dot com…" and subject is "meeting place for tomorrow"…!" Obihiro grinned.

He double-clicked on the mail but, suddenly, a pop-up window with the phrase "Who is Moneda?" written atop it along with an answer box and the number 10 showed on-screen: the number began to quickly decrease and both gasped.

"P-password locked…! And don't tell me those are _seconds_…!"

PING!

"A~h! The mail self-deleted!" Obihiro gasped.

"Why didn't he leave behind the password for that?" Yuuichirou frowned as he glanced at the letter.

"Maybe he didn't know it'd come with a password or maybe it's a personal question… Damn it! I'll have to study the address to try to find out where it'd come from and…!" Obihiro cursed.

RI~NG!

Both gasped and whipped around to see the phone ring: they were too surprised to move towards it so it switched to the answering machine instead.

"I am not home at the moment. Please leave a message after the signal."

"Yo! Moneda! My fellow! What's up, man? Ya didn't pay the electrical bill or what?" A youthful voice asked with obvious amusement.

"… Fuck. Moneda is an anagram of Omenda if you write the name down in Alphabet letters…!" Obihiro growled.

"And I guess the answer was "me"…!" Yuuichirou grumbled.

"I know ya are in there, at the world's end, ya see…"

"What!" Yuuichirou gasped.

"Heck. The mail had a tracer-bot?" Obihiro cursed.

"What's tonight's game? Play the mute? Come on! I'm surprised you didn't spot my joke. Just pick up, man, and let's settle on where we'll be meeting." The caller laughed.

Obihiro suddenly jumped down from the chair, walked over to the phone, and placed a handkerchief over the receiver.

"Wholy Jisep, I'm fed up with these silly acts. Get to the point or I'm going to talk about the deal to the Net Police's Cyber CID!"

"O~h… Scary, scary~… Net Police's Cyber CID… Heh! Good old Video Man proved that they're more rusted than a bell left to rust on the bottom of the ocean!" The caller laughed again.

"Grah! Enough! Just tell me the place and the time!"

"Alright, Mr. Anderson! Place's Densan City's under-construction 5th district station, soon to be opened… The coin lockers… Meet ya there tomorrow at 20:30… That fine for ya? Or would ya prefer the Empire State's 70th floor? Heh, heh, heh."

_I'm not sure if they've been surveying Omenda – san… Maybe he plans on leaving for Kyushu today and if we wait until tomorrow then they could realize he's left… And we'd lose the chance to find them because I'm sure they'd change the phone number…_

"… Eh… Tomorrow isn't good…" He improvised while trying to think of a good excuse.

"Why not? Your ex-wife's gonna bring ya to the court to settle on the divorce fees?"

"No, no. I've got to enter the hospital. I've got heart problems, you know, and I managed to get appointed with a famous surgeon and all. It'll be there for about five days." He replied.

_That of the heart problems is true anyway_…

"… My Boss won't accept THAT big of a delay, see…" He sighed.

_Boss? So he's not the mastermind? And he doesn't sound that old either, maybe about 15 or 16?_

"My bad. But it took me a lot of time and effort to get that famous heart surgeon to examine my case… The only time I can think to give it to you would be at the morning but then they wouldn't let us inside."

"Hmmm… Alright, then. Bring it tonight at 21:00 PM."

"T-tonight at 21:00 PM, you say?"

"Yeah. It can't take even 45 minutes to drive from there to here even though it's already 19:40 PM. You'd have ample time to wait in the car and get warm. I'll just hand you the money and one little piece of advice before I go off and you never see me again. Bring the completed program in a CD too." The teen instructed.

"Alright. But you better not try to…"

"No, no. Our rules forbid that very explicitly."

"Hum. But I'm going to tell the Net Police's Cyber CID once this thing is over: I'm pretty sure you've been invading my privacy."

"All's fair in war, Mr. Anderson. 21:00 PM… Don't be late!"

The line went dead and Obihiro replaced the phone while forming a smug smile across his face: he then rummaged inside of the desk's drawers and took out a DVDRW+ from inside of it set on a transparent case.

"Gotcha."

"So you really plan on meeting them?"

"Why not? He sounded honest when he said they don't allow for murders or killing. And besides, if they're the same guys that Slur Navi commanded then… They've gotta be fans of Serenade and don't do harm to people: maybe that program is one step of something else." Obihiro suggested as he turned off the computer.

"Well… You've got a point, really. Let's head back there and park nearby so that you can sneak into the station…"

"Just what I was aiming for, sir…"

They turned the lights and the heater off and Obihiro locked the house before placing the key under the mat again: both climbed into the car and speeded away from the cottage.

"Shouldn't we call for Ijuuin – kun?"

"No. He'd ruin it by trying to catch them. I'll simply leave the program in one of the lockers and then listen from close by… The guy might comment something to himself or to his Navi if he has any."

"Well. That could work too…"

"But, really… That "Moneda" joke was very poor in taste. That guy mustn't have been educated in a properly manner about how to address adults or else he's being Occidental." Obihiro grumbled.

"Truly."

"In any case… I'll know once I get there."

"Wholy Jisep, Slur, three Net Navis, a "Boss", a waiter… Just who are they and where did they come from? How didn't the Net Police's Cyber CID detect anything?" Yuuichirou wondered aloud.

"Maybe they're good at setting up red herrings, even…"

"I've got a bad feeling about this whole business, I really do…"

"I do, too, sir… This doesn't feel right, sir…"

20:15 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hello~?"

"… Whaddya want."

"What's with the dry tone, man?"

"I was about to get into the bed."

"At this hour on a Friday?"

"It's my business when I get to bed and I don't care if it's Friday or Tuesday or whatever. Whaddya want?"

"Just to tell ya, we're moving the meeting with Moneda to tonight's 21:00 PM 'cause the guy needs to enter the hospital for some tests or another and will take three to four days…"

"Did the President authorize _that_?"

"I didn't call him."

"What the hell are you waiting for?"

"Don't worry~! I've borrowed three of the guys to stand watch around the area and "Ice Queen" agreed to lend me a hand…"

The teen who'd been posing as a waiter in the Akihara City Hotel was driving a Hyundai motorbike across the largely deserted city streets and speaking through his PET using the hands-free system.

"So you're admitting rebellion?" The voice on the other end of the line sounded annoyed.

"What… I'm just fixing troublesome spots! You go to bed and I'll handle the rest: don't be surprised if the President promotes me tomorrow and I get to rise in rank…" He chuckled.

"Jeez. There aren't ranks to begin with: the "Ice Queen" is the President's favorite and that's all. Sod off." The other person grumbled.

"Heh, heh, heh. Just you wait!"

20:58 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Alright, here we are~! Yo! Moneda! I've got grant you your very corporeal essence~!"

"Zarashe Wan – kun. Be serious."

"Beta X! Your dryness amuses me, you know. It reminds me of Wesker, you know?"

"Wesker? Who's that?"

"_Check it out_!"

"Hmpf…"

The teen, Zarashe Wan, stepped into the underground station's coin lockers room and flashed his Link PET's flashlight around while looking amused: his Navi grumbled and didn't sound amused.

"Why don't ya look around for our casino manager friend? He happens to remind me of Bert Saxby~!" Zarashe grinned.

"By all the… Fine!"

The Navi projected himself out of the PET and his hologram expanded until assuming real-world size.

"Beta X came to punish them all!"

"Be serious, I say."

Beta X was a Net Navi who appealed as being over a meter and sixty tall, maybe closer to a meter and seventy.

His helmet's main color was black as well yet he had some blue pieces of armor built around the edges of it and across the middle of the helmet.

The ruby had been set directly above his nose and was aiming downwards.

His eyes' irises were blood red in coloring but they lacked pupils: his facial expression denoted seriousness.

The helmet included five "wings" colored white plus a golden edge.

Two formed on the lower edge of the helmet, another two formed at a height over the eyes and the last one sprouted from the middle of his helmet while aiming upwards.

His main body's color choice was black: he had a white piece of armor set over the chest which contained a ruby jewel and two wing-like extensions spreading across the torso until the shoulders: the golden-colored Alphabet "X" character was set within a piece of armor located over the upper edge of the ruby.

A golden edge surrounded his neck and formed a small collar-like object around it: his shoulders had white armor over it: three thin spear-like extensions formed behind them and gave off the impression of a wing as well: the uppermost piece was golden in coloring while the other two pieces were white.

His arms' skin was black until the elbow: white armor encompassed it and extended until the hands and fingers: a golden ring served as additional protection for the wrists.

The rest of his upper body had no decoration whatsoever until the hips, where the leg armor began at: a golden edge in the shape of a triangle marked the start of it.

The rest of the legs' armor was painted using white color palette: the knees had extra armor over them and two small and short wing-like extensions.

Golden pieces of armor showed up over the ankles yet there was a space between them and the legs: they were bent upwards to form a triangle and included the wing shapes on their edges.

Lastly, his feet's armor included two pieces of outer edge and another two pieces which were separated by a slight space between the front and the rear of them.

Overall, his appearance was reminiscent of a "fallen angel" given the color motifs and all the winged extensions.

He currently had his arms folded and looked unimpressed.

"You could start by checking _that_ out." He drily signaled a coin locker behind Zarashe with his left finger.

Zarashe whipped around and spotted a 10,000 Z note sticking out of the coin locker so he opened it and found the CD case sealed with cello-tape inside of it: he gasped.

"By all the… This is the program Moneda had to develop!"

"Hmmm…" Beta X looked intrigued.

"Hah! The chicken… He thought we'd slaughter his hide so he left his here and fled… But I guess they can't be that far yet… Let's check with the guys on the outside anyway and with the "Ice Queen"… Patch me to her in the first place, Beta." Zarashe grinned.

"Sure."

He snapped his left hand's middle and index finger and Zarashe picked the PET to listen as the call tune rang out: none of them spotted Obihiro looking on while hiding behind the furthest row of lockers: he had a grin on his face.

_Zarashe Wan and Beta X then! Wholy Jisep is most likely a fake name to hide their true colors… Maybe by the "guys" he means Video Man and those other two? It'd make sense unless there were more to them which we don't know about yet._

"Yo~! _Queen_. Trying to blow Snake up?"

"Oh my. You place in Fortune's hide again, Wan?" A girl's voice replied with some amusement.

"You know how they are, Queen – sama." A Navi added.

"True, true, my friend. Regarding Omenda – dono…"

"Don Moneda!" Zarashe joked.

"…then he isn't around. I did see four or five drunkards passing by there about five minutes ago though and one small boy who looked like he'd gotten lost… He must've come out from another exit…"

"Alright… I'll pick the CD thing and come to meet ya so that we can go back to the HQ… Wanna have a hot night?"

"No thanks. I'll pass. One's reputation is at stake."

"O. K.!"

Zarashe placed the PET on the arm-rest and then spat the chewing gum he'd been chewing before starting to peel the tape set around the edges of the case: he hummed a tune while Beta X looked at the entrance and formed a smug smile: he merely folded his arms.

KA-CLICK

"So?"

"Yikes!"

"So?"

"Oh man! You scared me!"

"So?"

"By all the… You sound like an automaton… Kage Miquel!"

A new character had come into the room and had pressed the silencer of a gun against the back of Zarashe's skull all of a sudden while starting to question him in a dry and dull tone of voice.

"Hmpf."

Kage Miquel was about the same height if not slightly taller, than Zarashe and had neatly combed blond hair along with soft facial features: he had a dry look to his face.

He wore a brown overcoat, a pair of jeans and black knee-tall boots plus a black bandana with a five-pointed golden star set against a black background inside of a silver circle drawn on the center of it: he also had sunglasses on.

His Link PET was colored golden and silver together with the same drawing in the bandana set on it as emblem.

"Just because you're the _Vice_ President's favorite you can't just show up from behind and threaten your pal with the gun! How did you get in without the "Ice Queen" seeing ya?" He grumbled as he turned around to face him.

"She did see me but wanted me to scold you."

"Che!"

"Hey. Andy. Come out and check how far this guy has screwed it up, will you?" He called out.

"Roger."

His Net Navi also projected and his hologram expanded until it gained real-life size.

His eyes' irises were a mix of blood red and golden and displayed nothing but annoyance and bad mood: some silver-colored hair could be seen emerging from beneath his helmet as well.

His whole body with the exception of his forearms and boots was painted in a bright silver color: the boots and forearms, however, had been tinted in a slightly rusted bronze color and a bronze-colored thin vertical stripe ran across his body from the neck to the end of the crotch crossing over his silver-edged chest emblem.

Overall he was about five centimeters taller than the other three, his total height being around a meter and sixty-something.

"There. There too. And there." He quickly signaled the chewing gum, the trails of cello-tape inside of the coin locker and lastly the CD case itself with his right hand's index finger and without bothering to take a step forward.

"So! Wan! Where's your imagination? In La-La-La Land?" Kage drily asked without bothering to conceal his annoyance.

"Look: if ya are still annoyed by that of an hour ago…"

"That's not it. Why was the case sealed with cello? Huh?"

"Eh… Well…" He trailed off.

"To get your fingerprints. You moron."

"Wha!"

"See?" Beta X grumbled.

"The chewing gum. You spat it out of lack of manners but someone could pick it up and have your saliva analyzed thus deducing your DNA coding apart from having an idea of your teeth shape." He announced as he picked it up with a handkerchief which he stuffed into Zarashe's right coat pocket.

"W-what in the…"

"And that case too."

He suddenly yanked it off Zarashe's hand and removed the CD tray to reveal a small button-shaped battery attached with cello-tape inside of the casing's reverse side.

"T-tracking device…!" Zarashe's jaw hit the floor.

Kage picked it and dropped it into the ground to then crush it with his right foot which he rubbed across the floor as if to ensure it became totally unusable: Obihiro made a grimace.

_Damn it. My three traps were gonna work because that guy's cocky and over-confident but this cold as ice man suddenly comes in and ruins everything! But that bandana is picking me, anyway. Netto – kun wears one with his own emblem too… Maybe it's becoming fashionable or something_.

"Alright, Zarashe. The President heard from me what was going on and he wasn't pleased at all. No wonder. You almost left a hundred trails behind and compromised the whole organization out of your caprices when we could've perfectly asked the programmer to come tomorrow morning at another station, deposit the program in a coin locker, leave the key in an indicated spot, we pick it, get the program, leave his money and give him the key. You seriously didn't even begin to think of that?"

"W-well… I thought I'd wrap the business quickly and…"

"Are you sure that you spoke to him?"

"Of course! Who else would it be?"

"I ran some searches and found he's on a plane heading for Kyushu as we speak. He couldn't have been in the cottage because the plane took off 45 minutes ago and you don't make it to the airport and go through all procedures in only 45 minutes either." He told him.

"E~H? T-then who the hell was it and how did they know about the whole business? I did survey his mail and everything!"

"You moron. He could've left a letter behind and then someone came in, read it, and played the part. They came here and set everything up to gather this evidence once you'd left." Kage grumbled.

"H-how can you know all of that in so little time?"

"I do my research. And I have contacts. There's no big mystery to it and now get your tranquilizer gun ready: the fox must be around here laughing at you but cowering in fear ever since my entrance. "Ice Queen" can handle the outside." Kage settled.

He slammed the coin locker shut and cocked his gun before both he and Andy's hologram started to move forward from the right side while Zarashe nervously drew his weapon too and advanced from the left.

_Shit! Both sides covered… No chance of slipping by and even less with those two Navis looking on… What should I do…? _

"… No – one here so they gotta be deeper in… Moneda's Omen Fields are hitting this guy from every angle!" Zarashe grinned.

"Stop acting like an idiot." Kage grumbled.

"Che. Stop acting like you're Big Boss."

"I'd rather be Raiden." He drily replied.

"Sure, sure…"

Both then converged on the last row and found it empty: even Kage seemed to be surprised by the fact given how he lowered his head and was seemingly thinking about something.

"Oi, Miquel! See? There's no – one: they're gonna come back later. Wait for them all night long if ya want but I'm gonna head back to our base, you know!" Zarashe protested.

"Don't be so quick to call quits on it, Zarashe – kun. The heat imprints here are hot and recent. Someone was here very recently ago and part of the coin lockers has a heat imprint on them too." Beta X suddenly called out while glancing at him.

"What?"

CLAC!

"Oi, Miquel!"

CLAC! CLAC!

"Stop opening doors at random!"

CLAC! CLAC! CLAC! CLAC!

"OI!"

"… Hmpf… I turned paranoid. There's no way an adult is gonna hide here: they don't fit here… The heat trails must've been planted to fool us: a red herring…"

Kage had suddenly begun to open the coin lockers' doors at random before stopping and shutting one half-open door shut without spotting Obihiro nervously hiding inside and holding his breath.

"… "Ice Queen"… How's the status out there? Over."

"My, my. No trouble, Miquel. So what's yours?"

"I fell for a red herring but at least I've impeded greater damage: we're coming out to meet with you once I remove the remaining evidence and then you two head to the home base: I'll go home."

"Roger, _darling_."

"Jeez. Be serious. I need at least 6 hours of sleep if I want to be ready for another day of field work." Kage grumbled.

"By the way, Andy – kun! Are you going to date Ms. Sniper Eyes? Tee, heh, heh!" The Navi giggled.

"Hah, hah. How funny." He drily replied.

Kage opened the coin locker with the cello-tape remains and took out a scout knife to peel them off and then store them inside of a plastic bag which he sealed.

"Off we go. You go with "Ice Queen" to the HQ and I'll present my report personally to the VP tomorrow morning. And I'm pretty sure that good excellent hound Ijuuin Enzan is will hear of us by tomorrow morning as well, even…" He formed a smug smile, for once.

"You and that Ijuuin guy… Do you have a grudge or what? You're always talking about the guy." Zarashe asked.

"Someone talked highly about that guy. Someone I trusted. I want to see if their description was far-fetched or not."

"Well. Have it your way. I know I'm gonna get scolded by Mr. President and Ms. Sniper will laugh at me with Mr. Sniper won't even bother to hear out the gossips around the home base." Zarashe sighed.

Both teens came out of the station and Obihiro timidly pushed the coin locker's door open: he was pale by now and looked obviously nervous as he silently ran off through one of the access corridors.

_I'm off this place and to meet with Hikari – hakase…! This is turning bigger and bigger! What ARE these guys? How many of them are there? And judging by that blonde man's talk he's going to challenge Ijuuin – kun to a Net Battle sooner or later… What kind of power does he hold? Our only lead insofar is that program… What do they want, anyway? But that Kage Miquel man gives off a terrific vibe… Almost like he controlled it all…! _

Obihiro felt a shudder go down his spine…


	5. Chapter 5: Discussion

**Chapter 5: Discussion**

09:45 AM (Japan Time), Saturday February the 1st…

"… Huff, huff… A~h! Sorry, sorry, sorry~! I overslept!"

"Hikari. You're the same type as always."

"Ijuuin – kun."

"I am sorry, sir."

"Don't try to spark hostility this early in the morning."

"Roger, sir."

"Y…Yo! Obihiro… Been a while… Huff, huff… What a sprint! The elevator took forever so I had to climb up the stairs…"

"Sit down, Netto. There's talk to do. And it involves you."

"Huh? Me?"

"From what we've found out…"

Enzan, Obihiro, Yuuichirou and Oda had gathered in an office of the Net Police's HQ for a meeting when Netto ran in while looking totally out of breath: Enzan wasn't surprised but Yuuichirou stopped him from starting a quarrel: Netto frowned and sat down while looking surprised.

"What have I done now? Didn't I quit doing reckless things?"

"No, no. It's not something you've done but rather something which someone you do have done…" Enzan corrected.

"Alright. And in plain words…?"

"Kage Miquel."

"Wha! Kage Miquel? You've met him?" Netto gasped.

"He was your classmate during 1st grade last year, right?" Enzan asked while looking at some notes.

"Yeah. Sure was."

"When did you lastly see him?"

"June. The graduation day."

"Where did he go after that? Why isn't he in your class this year? I thought he was a very good student?" Enzan asked.

"Guess you've done that look-up on a rush… He went to Chicago because his uncle recalled him there: his health was frail and he wanted Miquel to come and help him out because the man apparently had phobia to hospitals… He went there and we exchanged postcards up until August before all communication ceased abruptly." Netto explained.

"Why didn't you use email or phone?" Enzan frowned.

"His first postcard said there was a lot of bureaucracy and redundant security stuff before someone who'd been off the country even if they had Ameroupe nationality were to be allowed to Plug-In or access to the Internet without someone else's supervision… The postcards were easier to use for communication. Right, Rock Man?" Netto detailed.

"Yeah. That was the only way I could exchange messages with Andy, too, because I tried going there but I was denied access. It'd seem Chicago got a Republican Mayor who was very paranoid and distrustful of foreigners coming and leaving through the Internet so he passed some unpopular laws forcing one to go through several immigration checks before finally being given a 24-hour permit which had to be renovated each time and someone had to provide proof you knew each other." Rock Man explained with a sigh.

"I'd heard of that." Obihiro brought up.

"I see. So? What happened after his last postcard?"

"He said he was torn because his uncle now wanted to enroll him in an academy where he'd studied at during his young times and said going outside of the country was bad influence and that he shouldn't have allowed it… He didn't want to abandon us but he didn't want to disobey his uncle either… He did say that in the end he might cut contact because he'd need some time to think it…" Netto sighed.

"I ran some inquiries and found he'd been in Houston for about a week before disappearing altogether: no – one had seen him or Andy ever since then and he was reported missing. I think he got into trouble there and we've always been hoping he'd eventually contact us… But when the new grade began and we got told he hadn't appealed for another grade our hopes sunk. Not only we two, though… The whole class felt like it was a great loss…" Rock Man concluded while hanging his head down.

"Well. Obihiro here saw him yesterday evening in Akihara City's 5th district soon-to-be-opened Metro Station with another guy…" Enzan let out the bombshell.

"WHAT!" Both gasped and Netto suddenly stood up while clutching the edges of the table.

"Yeah. See… I'd gone with Hikari – hakase to visit a programmer I know but it turns out he'd gotten into some mess by accepting a job from "Wholy Jisep" and…"

"Wholy Jisep! But wasn't that the name that Koyota man used to invite us to the _Scherezade Symphony_…?" Netto gasped.

"Yeah. And it's an anagram of Joseph Wily too. Anyway. A guy rang and he told us to come to the station to deliver the finished program so I got there ahead of time and set three traps to seize information about the guy, named Zarashe Wan… His Navi was named Beta X and he looked like a fallen angel…" Obihiro continued.

"And then Miquel showed up?" Netto guessed.

"Yeah. It was so silent that none of us knew he was there until he pressed the silencer of a non-lethal gun against the back of Zarashe's skull: he was in a pretty foul mood because it'd seem Zarashe rang him when he was about to go sleep." Obihiro explained.

"Did he still have the bandana and that brown overcoat…?"

"Yeah. The bandana picked me."

"Andy? How was Andy? How did he look like?"

"Hostile." Obihiro summed up in one word.

"Hostile? That's a first. He was so nice and kind with everyone… So, what happened next?" Rock Man was surprised.

"Kage asked of him where Zarashe had screwed it up and spotted the three traps without having to move at all: next was Kage explaining to Zarashe how the traps were set and that the programmer was flying to Kyushu by then. He then had him search for me but I hid inside of the locker… They gave it up and then Kage mentioned Ijuuin – kun saying he'd like to test him out because someone talked about him… Did you talk with him about Ijuuin – kun?" Obihiro finished before asking.

"Sure thing… He was interested in Net Battling and so… He never pestered me with questions about our adventures either… He could beat Guts Man with ease but I wouldn't say he was too powerful… He was slightly over the average but I don't think he could hold his ground for too long against Muramasa Blues…" Netto described.

"So! According to you… He was never hostile with anyone?"

"No. Dekao, being the bad loser he is, tried to pick on him but he played deaf and Dekao finally gave it up after Meiru and Yaito began to get annoyed with him."

"Then something must've happened ever since he vanished in Houston in August and reappears here in February. Half a year, more or less… Maybe he's been recruited by Slur's gang and he's been trained to become a field agent or something?"

"Slur? Who's that?" Rock Man asked.

"I thought we'd told you! Some days ago there were three incidents in which three Navis named Video Man, Burner Man and Needle Man challenged Blues, Search Man and Tomahawk Man. They were commanded by a female Net Navi named Slur who said she was a friend of Serenade. She wanted to test us out. And we've confirmed that those three same Navis were standing watch around the station yesterday evening so they're in the same club."

"Weird… Why would they want to force a programmer to come up with that program whatever it is then?" Netto frowned.

"They didn't force him. But they did try to make sure he didn't tell anyone else about them too… One thing is clear: they've been around for over a year's time so they had to be around while Kage was still a student in your class. Maybe they were just starting."

"Hmmm… Then that may be why he vanished: he met those guys and decided to join…"

"We've drawn a rough schematic from their talk… There are several unconfirmed spots but anyway…" Enzan announced as he handed him a piece of paper.

"President and VP… Slur… Miquel and that Zarashe guy… Andy and the Beta X guy… Some "Ice Queen" and their Net Navi… The three solo Navis… There could be other Navis… Mr. Sniper… Ms. Sniper… Hum, hum… I see, so that's how it is." Netto read.

"Yeah. Unfortunately it's too vague and we've got no clue of what their name is to begin with. They have a home base but Kage seems to be staying elsewhere. We did run a search but no register appeared with his name anywhere: he might be using a fake one."

"I see… So why don't you ask if someone has seen that Zarashe guy around here to begin with?"

"We were waiting for the morning. And besides, Higure identified him as the waiter in the Akihara City Hotel, the one who none of the staff seemed to know about." Enzan added.

"Oh. That mysterious disappearance which the TV talked about a week ago… So… Have you found out how they did it?"

"Nope. We've got absolutely zero clues. Uncle Moran must want to make us sweat a bit." Oda sighed.

"Quit it, Superintendent." Yuuichirou sighed.

"It's pointless." Enzan added.

"I know, I know…"

"By the way… Did something happen to Forte? He doesn't seem to be roaming around the Reverse Internet anymore…"

"That Slur immobilized him in some weird ropes and then threw him inside of some vortex or another: I guess he's still inside of that thing for all we know." Enzan shrugged.

"Yet, Rock Man… No Navis have tried to approach you lately?" Blues suddenly asked.

"What? No. Why should they? I'm totally rusted and even _Guts Man_ can drive me into a tight spot by now." He admitted.

"Hmmm… True, true. If they saw that then they wouldn't bother to send a strong opponent… Or maybe they didn't because Serenade trusted in you so that Slur woman decided to leave you alone…"

"It's at times like these that Uncle Merton would rather tell me to ring the rusted bell Meijin hides on his coat's right pocket."

"W-what?" Meijin uttered.

"What the fuck?" Punk cursed.

"So! Am I right?"

"No, sir!" Meijin grumbled.

"Uncle Merton is _always_ right."

"I doubt it, sir." Meijin was skeptical by now.

"Che." Punk grumbled.

"Wait a minute. I just had a bizarre idea." Oda gasped.

"Huh? What?" Yuuichirou asked.

"Well, hakase… Your family name is "Hikari"…" He began while looking at Yuuichirou.

"True. So?"

"That youngster's family name is Kage."

"Oh! True, true! What a coincidence. Shadows exist as long as there's light… Hmmm…"

"Maybe it isn't much of a coincidence and he came up with that surname on his own… Miquel is certainly a foreign name from Catalonia, the equivalent to "Michael"… I guess he elected "Kage" because it was short and sounds nice… He's gotta have an Ameroupe surname but he managed to alter his ID data to put on this new surname… Maybe it's a sign that he looks up to Hikari Jr., even…" Enzan exposed.

"That's not crazy." Obihiro agreed on it.

"Maybe he didn't like his uncle and to avoid being detected he came up with that surname? But he couldn't bring himself to change his own first name and maybe the reason he had to go back was because his uncle wanted to scold him and that could be the reason why he wrote letters so that they couldn't be blocked or intercepted…?" Netto suddenly gasped and looked like he'd thought of something.

"Could be. We'd have to locate that uncle of his somehow. Maybe if we look at the Chicago police database regarding missing persons we'll end up finding his true surname." Enzan nodded in agreement.

"It'd seem he's had dumb luck in life… His parents probably passed away in some accident or another given how he never talked of them and told us not to ask…" Rock Man sighed.

"Good. We'll be running investigations. You can head back already: I'll contact you if something else pops out."

"Alright… Fua~h… Hell. I should've gone to bed early yesterday but Meiru had me see that silly film until the end…" Netto stood up and barely repressed a yawn.

Yuuichirou merely lifted his eyebrows in surprise and Netto seemed to catch on it: he gasped.

"P-papa! Don't start over-thinking things! I'm not 15 yet!"

"Alright, alright."

"It was embarrassing enough: she was teasing me!"

"We'll talk about this at home."

"Alright… But try to come home at least one day at a week: we all miss you, really." Netto suggested.

"I'll try…" He sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"Alright, then… See ya!"

He came out and locked the door yet Enzan spotted for a moment how his eyes had begun to water: he didn't show it on his face and he rubbed his chin.

_Guess Kage was just more than a friend if he's worried about what has happened to him… Well. They did share the classroom during 10 months and that's more than enough time to make new friends too… Guess I should go for a walk too… _

"Leaving, Ijuuin – kun?" Yuuichirou asked.

"Yes, sir. I need some fresh air."

"Uncle Merton will give you a miniature electrical fan which has a rusted blade! Mwah, hah, hah, hah!" Oda laughed.

"How improbable." He drily replied as he locked the door behind him and grumbled under his breath.

"Everyone! Uncle Merton will flatten Uncle Moran using the powers of Flattening Man! Mwah, hah, hah!"

"How silly."

"How annoying."

"How vain."

Obihiro, Yuuichirou and Meijin came out too while grumbling.

"Flattening Man Strikes Back With A Vengeance~!"

10:34 AM (Japan Time)…

"… _Where_ might _you_ be going _to_? _Comrade_?"

"Yikes! Oh…! You…! Man! Don't give me those scares. I forgot something in the trunk of my bike and you look at me like I was gonna sneak out after the scolding the President gave me for almost jeopardizing the whole gang…!"

"My bad, Zarashe."

"No, no. He deserves it, really."

"Beta! Don't switch sides!"

"Who said I was in yours?"

"Jeez! You're starting to imitate Snake when he had the Mr. X knock Raiden out and reminding him he'd never said he was on his side to begin with…!"

"Have you seen Kage?"

"Kage? The Wesker look-alike? No!"

"Ah. No problem then. I'll contact them."

Zarashe was standing in an underground parking somewhere and had been walking over to his motorbike when a voice boomed out from behind and he whipped around to see a figure hidden in an unlit spot of the floor which was largely cloaked by the blackness yet it had a strong reddish glow to its body: he sighed after recovering from the initial scare to start discussing with the figure and Beta X's life-sized hologram joined the chat while looking unimpressed.

"Ya and Kage and Andy… Why is everyone so… stiff? Rigid? Why can't you be more flexible?" He exasperatedly asked.

"Good question, Zarashe, good question… Maybe Rigid Man passed his illness into us." The figure made a smug smile.

"Oi, oi… That sounds like that Oda old man…"

"Superintendent Oda! Have some respect for him even if they're our opponents, Zarashe – kun!" Beta X scolded.

"A-alright, _Danna_…"

"I'd rather say Uncle Moran is on our side so I'm going to meet Enzan at last and make him sweat a bit while showing to him our little power-boosting tool… Heh, heh, heh. See ya."

"O-oi! Wait! Che! So selfish and all… That guy… The VP's Navi… And Sub-Commander…!" Zarashe grumbled.

"Get serious: envy won't lead us anywhere."

"Oh yeah? And what about Ice Queen?" He teased with a grin.

"Ice Queen ain't involved: go play _Twilight Princess_ instead. Or the recently-launched _The Legend of Zelda: Land's Steam-Whistle_ for the DS too…" Beta X grumbled and looked away.

"Caught ya~… She wants you to be her pet, right? And that fits with your personality too, right?" Zarashe's grin grew wider as he lowered his voice to an exaggerated conspiracy hush-hush tone.

"Jeez. Go codfish." He fumed and looked elsewhere.

"Don't worry! It's our little pro secret…"

"I wonder." He drily muttered while looking skeptical.

"O~h… Scary Guy showed up with the 7:17 PM express from Devonshire, eh, Beta~?" He joked next.

"No. End of the tale. Go tuna already. Or go play _Pocket Monsters Heart Gold_ while you wait until another more interesting game comes out into the market…" He tried to shove him away somehow while looking annoyed and fed up.

"Alright! I'll yield the screening time to that guy but I'm gonna find a way to sneak into the screen too! Heh, heh, heh!"

Beta X grumbled while Zarashe chuckled under his breath…


	6. Chapter 6: Doppelganger

**Chapter 6: Doppelganger**

12:49 PM (Japan Time), Saturday February the 1st…

"… Damn it. Nothing and nothing and nothing… Nothing Man showed up or what?"

"I don't think there's such a Net Navi to begin with, Enzan – sama, sir, or we'd heard of them, sir."

"Can't you catch sarcasm?"

"I apologize, sir."

"Whatever. Let's keep searching."

"Searching for something to fill the void in your bodies, Ijuuin Enzan and Blues?"

"Y-you're… Slur! Where's Kage!"

"Kage? Ah. Kage Miquel? I do not know and I do not need to know."

"Huh? But aren't you in the same league or group or whatever?"

"True. Yet there are two administrations. While I am the strongest of all Net Navis in our organization, I report my actions to the President and so does Beta X but Andy obeys the Vice President and his Net Navi. Incidentally, that Net Navi will be coming over to challenge you and see if you have learnt your lessons…"

"That doesn't sound good. At all."

"Starting to realize your own powerlessness? You should remember who gave you that Muramasa Blade. Make that power be worth keeping it, Blues…"

Blues had come into the Reverse Internet and was confronted by Slur who was floating high on the air and folding her arms while looking down (literally) on them yet she looked dull and imposing: Blues didn't yield terrain yet he didn't seem to like the tone she had.

"Coming."

"Heh, heh, heh. So! We finally meet… Enzan!"

A new Net Navi made it to the scene: he was over a meter and sixty tall.

His helmet's main color was blood red as well, yet the inner edges surrounding his thick red shades had a tint of purple to them.

A wild flock of silver hair came out from behind the helmet and covered all of his body's back.

A purple band formed on the forehead and circled the whole diameter of it: two valley-shaped cavities had been inserted into the sides of it and they ended in golden circles: a "fin" sprouted from the top of the helmet thus giving it a menacing-like look.

His main "skin" color was black, yet his upper torso had red blood armor built over it: there were two black shapes drawn over the shoulders having a golden rim and a thin black line spread from the base of the neck to the lower edge of the armor.

An emblem with a black edge was set on the chest: it consisted of white and black halves split by a thunderbolt-shaped line: white was golden and silver was right.

The forearms were colored blood red and had two purple-colored parallel formations which originated at the sides of the emblem atop each hand's palm: they spread over the edge of the forearm while forming a pyramid-like shape.

His right forearm currently held a purple-colored Long Sword with a customized hilt.

The central body of the forearm was now colored metallic gray and had two purple circles colored yellow inside: a purplish-colored blade emerged around a cone-shaped purple-colored formation: the blade looked sharp and menacing for some reason or another.

His boots began slightly below the knee and had purple-colored diamond-like shapes which extended as high as the knee: they were colored blood red as well: the soils were colored purple, too.

Overall, he looked like a revamped Blues including a smug smile which gave off a bad vibe drawn across his face.

"My name's Legato. It means "Ambassador" in Latin. And I'm the Number 2 Navi in our organization." He announced.

"So! Andy reports to you." Enzan guessed.

"Yeah. Wanna kiss the floor, Enzan?"

"What?" He grumbled.

"I shall leave you to handle everything as per the Vice President's commands while I return to my duties. We may meet again one day which may come sooner than you believe too. Farewell."

"Alright, Enzan. Let's bet. I bet 500Z that you'll be kissing the floor in less than 30 seconds starting… NOW!"

He suddenly warped forward and began to deliver a series of kicks and punches (using the left fist) before warping and reappearing behind him while cutting across his armor with the Long Sword and delivering a kick to toss him into the floor and then place his right foot over the wound while aiming the sword at the neck.

"I win. 17.09 seconds!"

"Fuck. This guy was being literal." Enzan cursed.

"You disappoint me, Enzan. Where's the man who fought for supremacy against Andy - kun's friend, Rock Man, time ago? Where's that man who could wield three blades, the one who fought to the very end and in a battle which none have been able to imitate or overcome? Huh? Did he go vacationing to Majorca or what?" He taunted.

"Fuck. Area Steal! Long Sword! Eat this!"

"Slow. And predictable too, Enzan."

He calmly turned around and met Enzan's attack with a grin and had no trouble holding it at bay to Enzan's growing annoyance: he tried to push it but Legato simply pushed him back.

"T-this JERK…!" Enzan cursed.

"That's more like you." Legato smugly told him.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Come on. Are you short-sighted or what? Don't you remember Rock Man DS? He's my predecessor." Legato announced.

"So you're a twisted copy of Blues then!" Enzan growled.

"Bravo, Holmes."

"Shaddup. Blues! Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Slot In! Dream Sword!"

"Eat this!"

"Heh. Dark Sword! Hra~h!"

Legato formed a purple-colored version of the Dream Sword Program Advance which he hit the floor with thus rushing towards the incoming attack by Blues: both met and cancelled each other by releasing their energy in the form of an explosion: Legato suddenly grabbed Blues' neck and tossed him into the ground using a _judo_ technique to then step away and change the sword for some kind of stylized gun consisting of a cone and two curved extensions growing out from it.

"Hra~h! Hah!"

He formed some streaks of reddish electricity across the space and then shot a red spheroid of energy which hit Blues and knocked him off his feet: he continued at it before switching back to the sword and then swung it across the air to form a reddish slice of energy which hit Blues again and he groaned.

"Damn! What power!" Blues cursed.

"So? Where's that man who was one of the best? Why don't you show me what you can really do? I know you can do more than this… Show me your true power! You're humiliating yourself by holding back! _Aniki_!" He smugly taunted.

"I ain't you bastard's _aniki_! Muramasa Blade~!"

"Coming!"

Blues drew the blade granted to him by Serenade and hit Legato with it thus inflicting a grave wound on him and sending him flying from the force yet he landed on his feet and panted as he looked up.

"This thrill! This pain! This agony! They make me feel alive! I wanted to see it… The power Serenade granted to you!" He laughed.

"Huff, huff… Guess I should really start getting up to date with some rigorous training…" Enzan muttered.

"Heh, heh, heh… That's the old Enzan I heard about. I've been researching about you a lot!" He chuckled.

"So then… Who are you guys?" A voice rang out.

"Hmmm… Search Man… You want payback for Burner Man's invasion of your mainframe, eh? Too bad! But you're not my type of opponent and I'm on a tight schedule." Legato grinned.

Search Man had showed up aiming his Scope Gun at Legato from behind and looking serious: Legato merely glanced at him over his right shoulder and looked amused.

"_Golden Star_. That's our name!"

"_Golden… Star_…! Wait a minute, you! Then the emblem Kage has on his bandana means that? But he had it before joining you guys!"

"Ah. But before that we didn't have a set name, see. When we recruited Kage in Houston and saw his emblem, Vice President – sama decided "Golden Star" would be a cool and simple name. You know gold medals are for the number one finalists, right? And stars are unique people too, ya know? Well then! We're the number one band of cool guys! That's what our name means! We voted it and everyone agreed."

"Ah! So that's what it means… And Kage ran away from his uncle because the guy was trying to forcibly turn him into a Republican or what?"

"Dunno. Maybe VP – sama knows but I didn't bother to ask. By the way, Search Man! Uncle Ivan sent his greetings." He grinned.

"Don't screw around: what do you seek?"

"What do we seek? Heh, heh, heh. Well. That depends on each department, ya see. The President wanted that program, we're working on a little something and Slur – sama wants to test you guys in the name of the late Serenade." He shrugged his shoulders.

"So there's a hierarchy after all." Enzan muttered.

"Of course. Although Slur – sama and I are equals on the paper in reality I have no trouble submitting to Her Grace's commands. I recognize the strong. And in the paper both departments work independent of each other without having to depend on the other so as to avoid power struggles but in reality both cooperate peacefully."

"Hum. So you've foreseen that too…"

"Of course. Mr. President always examines a thing from several angles before arriving to a decision." He grinned.

"So Kage is gonna show his hide around?"

"That depends on what VP – sama thinks is wise."

"And you don't know yourself?" Search Man questioned.

"Nah. I'm too hot-headed and I'd screw everything up. But he appreciates my battling skills too."

"Something tells me you guys are very different from the WWW, Gospel or Nebula."

"Of course we are. Very different indeed. By all the…! That's…! It couldn't be…!" He suddenly gasped and looked towards a platform.

"What?"

Blues and Search Man looked in that direction while Legato made a smug smile and vanished from the scene.

"Damn. Oldest trick in the book and we fell for it."

"Who's that "Kage" whom you mentioned?"

"We'll send you a report once it's ready." Enzan replied.

"Alright. I guess there's a lot of info to process." Laika calmly muttered without sounding surprised.

"And we need to add what this punk told us too."

"Can you sum it up?"

"Alright… Kage used to be Hikari's classmate. He travelled to Chicago then Houston and his trail vanishes there to reappear out of the blue yesterday evening." He summed up.

"I see. What about the Navi?"

"Andy's the name… According to Hikari he wasn't very strong back then but you never know: this punk could've toughened the guy up and I don't think that other Navi we've seen, Beta X, is a joke either. If they're supposed to be on the same level as those three punks then you can imagine they'll drive us to the corner." Enzan sighed.

"Yeah. We should start training for real: the usual exercises aren't enough anymore so we need to improve over them." Laika grumbled.

"Attention to all customers: they're about to dynamite this facility so please evacuate in a calm and orderly manner: Uncle Merton's gone berserk." A voice rang out.

"What?" Laika wondered.

"Superintendent Oda: stop hijacking my communications frequency already!" Enzan groaned.

"Santa says you're - FIRED!"

"Santa's nocturnal visit happened way over a month ago." Enzan grumbled.

"Uncle Metton says you're - HIRED!"

"How original, sir." Enzan grumbled.

"And that's the Superintendent of the Net Police's Cyber CID? Why do I find that hard to believe?" Laika grumbled.

"Join the club." Enzan sarcastically told him.

"Got the joke, alright…"

"Hello there! Ladies and gentlemen! Did you request to know if Uncle Moran is badmouthing us?"

"NO, SIR!" A chorus of voices protested.

"Alright, alright. Then I'll bring Uncle Indy next time around. He'll show us how to dig out ancient treasures of the Maya."

"Heh, heh, heh. _No pain no gain_! Enzan!" Legato's voice rang out across the line as well.

"What the fuck. You hijacked it too?"

"Be glad I didn't hijack the trash collection truck instead."

"Who'd want to hijack the trash collection truck anyway?"

"Dunno. Maybe Superintendent Oda's Uncle Merton would?"

"Don't ride on his tune or it'll get worse." Enzan hissed.

"So they say, so they say."

"BURNER MAN! YOU MORON! WHO TOLD YOU TO BURN THE CUT MATERIAL OF MY NEWEST FILM? HUH?"

"Was bored: wanted to burn something… Next time put a label on it or something, dude."

"NYA~RGH! I'M SO GONNA STRANGLE SOMEONE TODAY~!"

"Fuck. We'll settle this later! Have at ya!"

"Hmpf… So back luck is starting to hit them too…" Enzan grinned.

"Eye for an eye." Laika grinned.

13:19 PM (Japan Time)…

"… ZARASHE~!"

"Wha! Video Man! Whaddya doing in my PET? I go out to have some fresh air here, on the harbor, and now you interrupt me."

"Where's Beta X!"

"Beta? He said there was some stuff he wanted to do. I don't question him anyway. What's up?"

"BURNER MAN! THAT MORON!"

"He burnt your films again or what?"

"YES HE DID!"

Zarashe had been sitting on the edge of the cargo harbor where cargo containers could be seen piled in different groups and staring at the sea when Video Man's life-sized hologram formed right to him, startling him: Video Man did look pretty annoyed.

"And you wanted Beta to put him down? But Beta is of the President's department, ya know. We're not supposed to get involved in a quarrel involving ya two who work for the VP."

"That's on the paper! Reality says otherwise~!" He hissed.

"Well. Sorry. But I really dunno where Beta went off to."

"Nya~h! Uncle Moran's bad luck is chasing me again!" Video Man cursed as he clutched his head.

"Come on. You know the VP started the joke after having heard from Kage who heard of that Hikari about that "Uncle Merton" joke Superintendent Oda did. He got amused and suggested using is as an ironical joke aimed at the Net Police's Cyber CID guys." Zarashe sighed as he took out his sunglasses and revealed his green emerald irises.

"I knew that, by Moriarty! I'd now want to pick the red Gyarados of the Rage Lake and have it use "Hydro Pump" on Burner Man!"

"Well. You could always try to rip if off and treat it as a Virus program because it doesn't take much storage space."

"Oho! What a deliciously juicy idea!"

"Ever since when can ideas be deliciously juicy?"

"Don't mind me: I'm being sarcastic! But I know now how to handle that irresponsible cocky bastard… Heh, heh, heh. My vengeance shall be terrible~!" Video Man laughed.

He vanished and Zarashe lazily stretched and stood up to then spot a figure half-hidden while leaning their back against one container nearby: he sighed and rolled his eyes before putting on the sunglasses again and leaning both closed fists against his body's sides.

"Ice Queen. Playing Ms. Stalker again?"

"Oh my. And what if I did?"

"Whatever. I know Mr. President doesn't mind it because you've got brains and it was you who found out about Moneda and then gave the info to him so that we settled on a programmer who had the level needed to finalize that program we'd begun." Zarashe shrugged his shoulders and didn't seem to care.

"But I agree that something should be done about Burner Man. Maybe sending him off to heat some small fry up there and there would do to show those guys who they're messing with. And I don't mean the Net Police's Cyber CID, mind you." "Ice Queen" replied.

"Good. I dunno why he comes to ask of me for help instead of Kage but I guess he must believe I've got more varied ideas while Kage would just tell him to complain to Legato." Zarashe muttered aloud.

"Well then… I'm off to the city. Let's have a little game tonight but I'll just be the observer… See you around, big boy…"

"Alright. Things are slowly heating up… Heh, heh, heh."

They both grinned as they looked towards the city's skyline…


	7. Chapter 7: Walls have ears

**Chapter 7: Walls have ears**

16:49 PM (Japan Time), Saturday February the 1st…

"… I'm surprised you called me here. Did you find Miquel or what?"

"No, no. But we found some interesting information."

"Well then: shoot it at me."

"That's not a bad catch-phrase either…"

Enzan had met with Netto in a café somewhere and Netto looked slightly curious while Enzan was neutral and composed.

"We met another Navi… Legato… A Blues spin-off…"

"Blues spin-off… Like Rock Man DS?"

"Yeah. The same concept but this guy is a very different tale. His strength is obvious because he beat us very easily and without doing too much effort… And he let out some information regarding the structure of the gang, named "Golden Star"… Apparently Kage was the one who came up with the name given his bandana's drawing…"

"Oh yeah? Funny. I always thought he was a guy very focused on the everyday matters and not the day-dreaming type…"

"Ah. I see. Well. They admitted they found him in Houston and invited him to take part into the business… He's got the eye of the onboard VP and responds to him… Both President and VP can do as they feel like and they're not obliged to tell each other what they've done but that's on the paper and in the field they work together pretty well… But it'd seem that Burner Man guy is the type to get bored easily given how he burnt some discarded film tape belonging to that Video Man jerk…"

"No – one's perfect or so they say."

"Guess so. I really need to train."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"Nothing. Keep as you are: it doesn't involve you directly."

"Alright."

"We're still looking into the Chicago stuff but we did confirm he was in Houston before he vanished… But we've got no clues as to how he came back to Japan undetected… He surely changed his appearance and they gave him a fake passport…" Enzan muttered.

"Could be, yeah…" Netto shrugged.

"Did he display any unusual abilities?" Rock Man asked Blues.

"He was pretty fast and strong, yeah, and could form one arm cannon as well to attack me… He seemed to read my moves in advance and be ready for them." Blues admitted.

"Whoa. And if he's Number 2, then Andy must've gotten quite a power boost ever since we last saw him…" Rock Man whistled in surprise.

"How did he use to be?" Enzan suddenly asked.

"Huh? Miquel, you mean? Well… Timid. Rather timid. He did address everyone formally and such but… He was always timid and felt nervous when he asked of us to lend him a pencil or an eraser even if it was for a little moment… He thought he was being annoying, even, but we told him he wasn't. We invited him to Yaito's parties as one more of the gang together with a B Class student named Hikawa Tooru – kun whose father works in the Waterworks and has a small Net Navi named Ice Man. It took him about three months to finally begin to open up but before that he was rather closed and although he attempted to look in a good mood I could see something was bothering him. Guess it was that uncle's stuff… After he opened up he began to join Net Battling which he'd kept out of and after a month of struggling he managed to beat Guts Man. We used to have friendly Net Battles on a more "basic" level where we didn't use anything else apart from the basic Folder and removed all Navi Customizer Programs so that we both were at the same HP and stats."

"I see. Did he strike you as cocky or…?"

"On the contrary: he was a guy who worried too much. He looked like me in the part that he was always concerned with each hit Andy got."

"Hum… So that means he must've had a radical change ever since the summer given the behavior he and Andy exhibited in the underground station…" Enzan rubbed his chin.

"Guess so."

"Here's a transcript Obihiro did and he's working on some sketches to illustrate the scene… He couldn't use his PET because its camera isn't designed to work in unlit spots and doesn't have night vision mode: the flashlight would've given him away…" Enzan told Netto as he handed him a piece of paper.

"Hmmm… Very hostile and straight to the point… Yeah… If you hadn't told me it was Miquel I would've believe it to be someone else. Or maybe that hostile behavior is a mask to hide something else like doubts…?"

"Could be…" Rock Man seemed to think along those lines.

"Why. That could be true, even…" Enzan muttered while sounding slightly surprised.

"It's not crazy." Blues shrugged his shoulders.

"Speaking of crazy… Superintendent Oda does keep on acting crazy or can he get serious from time to time?" Netto asked as he picked the orange juice glass with his left hand.

"Huh? When did you become left-handed?"

"What? Oh! Well… I still haven't gotten off the habit I had to develop while my wound healed…" He admitted.

"Ah. Well. Regarding Superintendent Oda…"

"…he'd like of you to bring him some _sushi_ cookies."

"True, true, and… Superintendent Oda! H-how did you know I was here?"

"Have you forgotten your suggestion regarding CID members when off-duty should be easily located just in case?"

"Oh heck. My own idea turned on me!"

"Yo! Hikari – kun. Teaching him the virtues of using the left hand in a _karate_ match?" Superintendent Oda grinned.

"No, sir." He drily replied while looking slightly annoyed.

"Oh, wait. Were you talking about Craig?"

"Craig?" Enzan frowned.

"Daniel Craig, my good fellow."

"James Bond, huh… I thought there wasn't going to be a movie this year because of financial trouble…" Enzan muttered.

"Sadly enough. But _Quantum of Solace_ is a good movie nevertheless, my good old fellows enchanted by Uncle Merton."

"Enchanted by Uncle Merton… Oh come on!" Netto groaned.

"With all due respect, sir… It's… silly, sir!" Rock Man protested.

"Here comes the lawyer apprentice?"

"No, sir!"

"My, my. Would you rather hear out a little thing? I got a package which turned out to be the _Die Another Day_ DVD… Who of you two sent it to me, then?" He grinned as he leant closer.

"I didn't." Netto quickly replied.

"I didn't either."

"So it had to be Uncle Merton's handiwork." He concluded.

Both rolled their eyes and looked rather annoyed at Oda's jokes: Oda then cleared his throat and showed them a sketch drawing of the scene which had happened in the station: Netto and Rock Man looked at it with attention.

"Yeah… That type of coat, the bandana, the sunglasses… It's the Miquel I knew, alright. And Andy looks like he used to do, too."

"He sure does… Yet that face is scary, even."

"That reminds me. Andy. What kind of personality did he have? Friendly, cocky…?" Enzan recalled.

"Hmmm… More like humble and cool-headed… He pulled some puns on us but they weren't as terrible as Superintendent Oda's ones."

"Obviously. Uncle Merton passed them down to me: they've been in the family for generations!" Oda proudly announced as he distractedly adjusted his necktie's lace.

"Sure, sure." Enzan skeptically told him.

"He never got cocky or anything in Net Battles either yet he seemed to like them more than Miquel – kun did. He didn't mind getting a blow or two and he didn't get frustrated with his initials attempts while battling Guts Man because he admitted he was a rookie and needed time to get used to Guts Man's style which he did." Rock Man continued.

"I see. So it comes down again to what we'd discussed before: a radical transformation of their personalities and behaviors. I guess they must have a former forensics or scientific police agent who trained them in to how to analyze the scene in search of traps to catch someone's biological data…" Enzan muttered as if reflecting aloud.

"Maybe they have a CSI Las Vegas fellow there…" Oda laughed at his own suggestion.

"It's a possibility." Enzan calmly agreed on it.

His PET suddenly rang and he looked at the screen: he pressed the "REPLY" button and Video Man's face came up on-screen with a smug smile across it.

"Ijuuin Enzan!"

"What the hell! Video Man? How did you know my private number?"

"My own sneaky and stealthy investigation!"

"So that's Video Man? He does live up to the name." Netto muttered with some surprise.

"Whaddya want? Brag?"

"Maybe yes and maybe not!" He teased.

"Get to the point, you moron."

"Mwah, hah, hah! Next time I'm going to strangle you!"

"What!"

"… What did you say?" Legato's voice rang out in the background with some barely concealed annoyance on it.

"_Ta-taichou_!" He gasped.

"So he's the Commander…" Enzan merely lifted an eyebrow.

"Who said anything about strangling? Did VP – sama tell you about it or you're trying to sound intimidating? I hope you _did_ remember to encrypt this line!" Legato growled.

"Y-yes, sir! I'm not as foolish as Needle Man!"

"Needle Man wasn't foolish: he just underestimated his opponent but it wasn't a setback in any manner." Legato fumed.

"It is encrypted, Enzan – sama…" Blues whispered.

"Try to find Search Man and drag him here so that we can crack their damned code." Enzan whispered back.

"Roger, sir."

"… Anyway! Video Man! Who are you talking to?" Legato questioned with obvious annoyance.

"Eh… Well…" He trailed off.

"Answer me: that's an order!" He commanded.

"I-Ijuuin Enzan, sir…"

"Enzan? What for? To show your hide?"

"W-well… I thought some intimidation…"

"Enzan ain't the type to get easily intimidated at all. Quit it before they drag Search Man here and he tries to crack the protocol. Too bad, Enzan, but we're too smart for ya. Patent the Black & White Coffee! Heh, heh, heh, heh… Have at ya!" Legato chuckled.

"Che. They fled… The punk…!"

None of three persons realized that they were being observed by a woman on her early 20s and having long platinum blond hair plus eyes with blue irises to them: she had a ruthless-like figure to her and was currently grinning as she hid behind a novel.

She sported a simple black wool sweater plus jeans and a pair of black boots.

A simplistic-looking black handbag was hanging from the chair's right side while a cobalt-colored Link PET with a golden-colored Alphabet "S" character on it as emblem was lying atop the table.

"Tee, heh, heh. What do you make out of it, Sandra?"

"Tee, heh, heh. Bertha – chan: it's obvious that they're not minding their surroundings…"

A Navi projected out of the Link PET using the standard-sized hologram while having a smug smile on her face.

Her helmet had a ruby set on its forehead and her eyes irises' was green: her face was shaped like a woman on her late teens or early 20s and its profile had an almost smooth shape to it.

Her bodysuit's main color was cobalt coupled with a golden band around the waist, golden shoulder plates and golden bracelets on both the wrists and the ankles.

Spiral-shaped magenta patterns travelled down her arms' and legs' surfaces while eight lines of the same color spread from the blackish edge of her chest emblem.

Overall she looked prideful and like she wanted to be ahead of the others given the brightness in her eyes.

"So true. Should we tease them a bit?"

"Let's rather make them feel nervous, Bertha – chan."

"How?"

"Easy. Let's use _S&M_…" She trailed off.

"Oi, oi." She looked surprised.

"Ahem! I meant _Smoke & Mirrors_…" She clarified.

"_Smoke & Mirrors_…?" Bertha frowned.

"Mr. Sniper's Navi told me about that… It's a technology to create holograms which look like real helicopters and send them to "assault" a fortress defended by AAC guns… The gunners shoot around like mad until they run out of ammo and then the real thing comes to deliver the _coup de grace_…" Sandra smugly explained.

"Ho~h… How intriguing." She made a smug smile.

"Ain't it?"

"So let's send some smoked pets to cause some scare at several places simultaneously and distract them so that we can pull a discrete escape and provide them with a glimpse of what we can do when we set our minds to it…" Bertha grinned.

"Delighted. I'd prepared everything on advance because I had a talk with Slur – sama who found it amusing. She's already given me the go-ahead to start it up." Sandra admitted.

"Start it up, dear."

"Leave it up to me…"

Sandra disappeared from the PET and Bertha then looked at the table where Netto and Enzan were trying to shake Superintendent Oda off but he wouldn't give up so easily.

"…and Aunt Garrideb used to say that grass is a grassy as a grassed lane, ya know." He was finishing another pun.

"How lame, sir." Netto grumbled.

"Totally, sir." Enzan drily added.

"My. What dryness." Bertha muttered.

"Ijuuin – kun!"

"Meijin? What's up?"

"Whoa. Meijin – san!"

"Huh? Ah. Hi again, Hikari – kun… Anyway… Trouble!"

"Where?" Enzan simply asked.

"13 spots at the same time!"

"1-13 spots at the same time…! What kind of trouble?" Enzan stood up from the surprise.

"Dream Viruses!"

"DREAM VIRUSES?" The five of them uttered.

"But… How weird. They don't seem to be doing anything else apart from standing and roaring yet their mere roar is disrupting some systems already… Wait a minute…" Meijin trailed off.

"He forgot his cigarettes." Oda joked.

"I don't smoke!" Meijin protested.

"Snake says you smuggle them in your jeans' rear pocket." Oda laughed next and his grin grew wider.

"Grfjtx!" He uttered something undecipherable over the line.

They didn't spot Bertha walking past them by going behind Netto and glancing at them: she'd put on sunglasses so they didn't spot her gaze apparently focusing on Enzan: she walked off and was obviously holding back the wish to laugh.

"Excellent job, Sandra."

"Thanks."

"I'm sure Mr. President will be largely satisfied."

"No wonder."

Both girls giggled while the roar of a Dream Virus rang out through Enzan's PET making it and Netto's frizzle as well as scaring some customers off and triggering the automatic watering system.

"By all the… Someone stop those!" Enzan cursed.

"Huh? Well… It turns out they aren't real Dream Viruses… They're holograms with a program having a sound wave the harmonics of which have been designed to contain a lot of "noise" and mess with basic automated systems…" Meijin reported.

"Yeah. I can't hit 'em to begin with." Punk grumbled.

"This show was brought to you by Industrial Light & Magic: thank you for your feedback." An automated voice rang out.

"Whoa! That was a show brought to us by the SFX Company which George Lucas founded when producing the first _Star Wars_ films…? They sure are progressing a lot!" Meijin whistled in admiration.

"With the sponsorship of Uncle Merton."

"I knew it! Mwah, hah, hah! Uncle Merton is - EVERYWHERE! He's Orwell's Big Brother!" Oda laughed.

"Oh come on." Blues growled.

"Someone is conspiring with him to make him look smart." Rock Man muttered with some annoyance to his voice.

"Obviously!" Enzan fumed.

"Heck. It's gotta be the "Uncle Merton Fan Club" even."

_Well then, cute boys… Play around while you can but you'll soon realize to what ends we can come when the situation calls for it… Kage will love to hear about this… Tee, heh, heh, heh!_


	8. Chapter 8: Operation Scare

**Chapter 8: Operation "Scare"**

09:09 AM (Japan Time), Saturday February the 24th…

"… Yo! Obihiro – kun. Found a girlfriend through that?"

"No, sir."

"So what did you find?"

"The updates I was expecting, the new manga chapters and all. Those Golden Star guys have stayed off the radar for three consecutive weeks and Ijuuin – kun is starting to get bored with the training as much as we try to make it harder."

"Maybe you want to help a damsel in distress?"

"Hmmm… Where is that person?"

"Well! Let me introduce you to a friend of mine…"

Obihiro had been working on something when Oda barged into the small workspace without knocking, as usual, to start joking with him but Obihiro replied with total dryness before Oda made a suggestion which he greeted with obvious skepticism.

"Oi! Kendo. Come and say hi."

"Hello. I'm Kendo Ango: private eye."

"Whoa! Private eye…!"

"We were pals in the Police Academy but he remained with the normal CID… He quit five years ago and has started a private eye agency which has been largely successful insofar."

Kendo Ango was a man on his forties with thick blackish hair and a thin moustache: his eyes' irises were brown.

He wore a simple grayish suit over a white shirt, a black tie, a pair of grey wool pants and simple shoes.

Overall he appealed as being close to a meter and eighty tall.

"Well. I got a request from a young lady who works in the DNN as make-up assistant… Someone has been cyber-stalking her and she called me for help but I'm not very good at computers. So far the threats have been rising in level and I advised her to change the locks and add safety locks plus an alarm… That's why I came here to ask of good old Oda if he could help me but he then told me you're a crack at computing."

"I am! And I'd like to help."

"Perfect then! I've got my car and we can be there in about 20 minutes if we leave now."

"Oh! By the way, Obihiro – kun. I'll be out because there's something I must take care of. Good luck on finding Uncle Merton's black sheep inside of the cattle~!" Oda grinned.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Oda. Your humor is too weird, I always say."

"Who knows, Kendo?"

"I give up."

"Everyone does, sir. Join the club, sir."

"I get the irony, Obihiro – kun."

They both stepped out of the room and headed for the underground parking where a simplistic green Toyota car had been parked at: both climbed onboard and Kendo turned on the engine.

"The client is named Suzuki Martha – san, aged 18. She lives in a small apartment 20 minutes from here along with her Net Navi Akemi. We both believe the cyber-stalker is someone of her place of work given how all attempts to trace the direction lead us to the DNN server yet they come up with fake addresses the whole time."

"But there must be a login register and the servers which dispatch the mail must have records of when they dispatched it and from where because you need a while before shutting down an address…"

"I can see you've got some ideas. Well, I'll drive you there and see what you can do. When you find the man tell Oda and he'll gladly handle the rest of the affair." Kendo smiled.

"Roger."

The car drove silently across the streets and after a while stopped in front of an apartments building: both climbed out and then headed up the stairs into the 3rd floor until they found an apartment with the name "Suzuki" on its plaque so Kendo rang the bell.

"Coming!"

A girl opened the door: she appealed to be in her late teens and had long brown hair reaching past her shoulders and up until the waist: her eyes' irises were brown too and she had a good profile.

She wore a simple green wool jumper, jeans and white socks plus a pair of teal slippers.

She also sported the arm-strap for a Link PET colored teal brown and yellow and having the Alphabet "A" character colored golden and set inside of a brownish-edged circle as emblem.

"Oh! Kendo – dono. Welcome back, sir."

"Good morning, Suzuki – san. I have brought someone to help us out in this affair." Kendo politely announced.

"Oh? That child…?" She wondered.

"Obihiro Shun. Net Police's Cyber CID."

"N-Net Police's Cyber CID? At your age?" She looked surprised.

"Well… I'm a hacker prodigy, so they hired me…"

"Wow. Eh… Well then… Please come inside: it's unhealthy to stay out there for so long." She timidly invited.

"We are sorry for the intrusion, really." Kendo apologized.

"No, no. Don't mind it, sir. Akemi!"

"You called, Martha – chan?"

Akemi was a Navi appealing to be around a meter and seventy tall whose main body color was teal brown accompanied by greenish irregular stains across her bodysuit.

Her helmet had the drawing of a flower on the forehead and her eyes' irises were green emerald: her face was smooth and slightly attractive when seen from a profile.

Her forearms and boots had three consecutive greenish rings drawn across them: each ring had some small yellowish stains scattered inside of them at random.

Some greenish hair flowed out from behind her helmet and reached until the shoulders.

Overall she looked friendly and like she was a naturalist.

"Yes. Can you check the inbox?"

"Alright. I'll be right back."

"Come in: do you wish something to eat or a drink?" She asked as she guided them inside.

"No, thank you." Both replied.

"Could you brief Obihiro – kun in?"

"Sure. See, about two weeks ago, I started to get emails asking me out for a data and the sender was very… rude. He claimed to be a "conqueror" so I immediately told them that they'd written the wrong address so as to try to shake them off. But instead he began to insist and started to add threats until two days ago he said he'd find out where I lived at and would then "have fun"… I called Kendo – dono and he did suggest me to add an alarm and safety locks." She explained with a sigh as she led them into the living room where her laptop was set at.

"I see. Does he sign with an alias?"

"Yes. "Superman"…"

"How silly. Alright. Please leave it to me: if it's a smart-lass wannabe then they're no rival for my computer skills!" Obihiro grinned.

"Alright. Show it to me, young boy." She smiled.

Obihiro sat in front of the computer and took out a pen drive from his jumper's front right pocket which he plugged into the laptop: he accessed a folder named "email tracing" and selected an application which he executed: he then opened the browser (Mozilla Firefox) and entered the mailbox: a folder labeled "stalking" contained all the mails from the stalker so he checked one and picked the email address which he copied and pasted into what seemed to be a new email message recipient: he wrote something on its body:

"You're in the way. Go to Norway. Batman."

"Sent! This email includes a beacon which traces the path they used and because they must be using the same computer and static IP address inside of the DNN's network then it can be traced and we'll find out who they are in about 10 minutes… But if the guy is live and sees this he'll reply back and thus will allow the beacon to ride into the return mail so that we can figure out their origin faster…" He grinned.

"Good move." Suzuki looked amused.

PING!

"Oho. From "supermanwillreturn DNN dot ja"… "Batman, you ass-hole! I was first! I'll beat ya in a _sumo_ match! You girlfriend-thief!" … And the static internal IP address is 192 168 22 11… 22 is 2nd floor 2nd department and 11 is the computer per se…"

"2nd floor 2nd department…? Sound setting…?" She wondered.

"User: Kakoku Mango…"

"Kakoku Mango! The rookie soundman who is one of the two in charge of sound during the news broadcastings in which I work as make-up assistant…! I knew he looked too _punk_ and rude to be in that post: someone must've pulled some strings in return of a favor."

"Let's send this guy's name to Cyber CID…"

"Good! They're out of league." Suzuki smiled.

"Yeah! Batter out!" Akemi grinned.

"Hum! This guy was accused of violation five years ago and dropped because there weren't enough proofs… But this will be proof enough to detain the guy." Obihiro muttered as he read a report.

"That's why I say the guy must've known compromising info and someone slipped them inside of the DNN in exchange for their silence and maybe accepting their blackmailing. I always was under the impression the guy had too much money despite being a rookie." Suzuki told them.

"Well. Let the Cyber CID handle that: we'll find out who they were blackmailing." Obihiro smiled as he unplugged the pen-drive from Suzuki's laptop.

"By the way, sir, regarding…" Suzuki began.

"No, no. Don't worry. I'll forward you my fee but since it was a small minor thing then I don't intend to ask for too high of a sum. I'm content enough with you being safe, Suzuki – san."

"Thank you, sir. And thank you too, Obihiro – kun."

"It's nothing, miss! I don't like guys like these getting away with bullying on people: they should pick someone of their size." Obihiro smiled at her and shrugged his shoulders.

"We'll be heading back: we don't want to rob you of your time."

"Oh. I see. Well, I had some errands to run anyway so… Thank you very much." She thanked.

"Thanks for the helping hand." Akemi thanked too.

"It's nothing, really. Good-bye."

"_Bye-bye_!" Obihiro told her.

"Take care!"

They both came outside and Obihiro accidently tripped with a small irregularity on the terrain thus meeting the ground: he didn't spot how he'd dropped a small ball of chewing gum as he rubbed his nose and both Kendo and Suzuki checked on him.

"Are you alright? Sorry: there's this dent in the pavement which makes people trip from time to time but no – one seems to want to call for someone to fix it…" Suzuki apologized.

"It's nothing, really… This aching will fade out after a while."

"Do you want a handkerchief or…?" Kendo asked.

"No, no. I'm fine, I insist. It's nothing. Don't feel guilty, Suzuki – san, really… This could happen to anyone!"

"Alright, if you say so… Take care!" She smiled at them and waved goodbye before closing the door.

"Let's go, sir. I'm going back on feet because I wish to walk for a while, so… I'm glad to have met you, sir."

"It's nothing. See you around."

Both split ways and Obihiro distractedly looked upwards to see Suzuki coming out and carrying her handbag: she locked the flat and began to head for the street in the opposite direction Obihiro was walking: he shrugged and searched for something on his pockets which turned out to be a radio receiver: he placed one earphone on his right ear while he turned it on and then searched for something else.

_Now… Where did I leave the miniature microphone with the GPS tracker which I had designed and wanted to test out…? Huh? I can hear its sound over the receiver… This rhythmic… Walking…? Shoes…? Oh crap! I must've dropped it when I tripped and Suzuki – san must've stepped over it thus getting stuck to her shoe's soil…! I should try to catch up with her and get it back… How silly of me, really!_

He began to run up the street and spotted Martha's figure several tens of meters on ahead: he saw her enter an underground parking next.

_She must have a bike…_

"… Alright. Time to report… Turn on the flute, Akemi."

"Roger. Flute: on."

_Flute? Is that their way of saying they've opened a communications channel with someone?_

"… Me." She announced.

"Input password…" A man's voice replied.

_Huh? This voice… I feel like I know it from somewhere._

"… "Hitherto shall thou come but no further." … Job 38:11."

"Well said. Second password check." The man commanded.

"What is in the middle of "Dark" and "Light"...? …"Shadow"…"

"Heh, heh, heh. Alright: both passwords OK. Did you find that "Superman" guy or do you need a hand, Suzuki – san?" The man asked.

"No. I got help from Obihiro Shun – kun of the Net Police's Cyber CID: Kendo – dono is friends with a gentleman named Oda."

"Superintendent Oda… Obihiro… Heh, heh, heh. So? Who was that guy, the chief?" The voice amusedly asked.

"A punk soundman who I believe was there because he was blackmailing someone, one of the big fishes… Kage – kun."

_Kage – kun? Wait a min! Kage Miquel, does she mean? By all the…! She's a member of "Golden Star" then! _

"Heh, heh, heh. Alright. We meet at 10:15 AM in the usual spot. Please make sure nobody is trailing you, Suzuki – san. And I'm sorry if I sounded rude a moment ago." He suddenly apologized.

"Don't mind it: we're colleagues, after all." She calmly replied without minding it.

"Roger that. I'm off the flute."

_I need someone with a car! Oh! I know! Hikari – hakase will do! I'll call him now and he can pick me up…_

"Hello there, Obihiro – kun. What's up?" Yuuichirou asked after Obihiro had dialed his number.

"Hikari – hakase, sir! I found a member of "Golden Star" and I need you to drive me so that we can follow them, sir! Please meet me next to Enishida Parking Garage, sir!" He summed up.

"What! Alright. Count on me. I'll be there ASAP."

Obihiro spotted a motorbike in which Suzuki was riding leaving the garage building: he quickly took out an iPod Touch 3 from his pocket and accessed an app which displayed a city map and a red blinking spot which was moving: he began to impatiently pace around until he heard the horn of a car and Yuuichirou's car pulled up: Obihiro quickly jumped inside and fastened the seat-belt.

"Name: Suzuki Martha, 18. Make-up assistant at the DNN… Net Navi: Akemi…" He summed up.

"How did you figure it out?"

"Superintendent Oda introduced me to a private eye friend who'd been approached by her given some cyber-stalking. I solved it a while ago but dropped a microphone and GPS tracer inside of a chewing gum spheroid which she accidentally stepped over. I heard her call Kage Miquel and thus got my confirmation. She's moving NNW and is 2 kilometers from here by now…" He summed up in a rush.

"Alright. Let's figure out where they meet and then let's call for the Cyber CID to try to seize information or hints."

"Wait a minute, sir… I'm picking up voices…"

He disconnected the earphones from the receiver and turned on the speakers.

"… Yo! Akemi – san. Would you mind going out with me on a date to the cinema?" Beta X's voice asked with some amusement.

"Well, I won't say no… Yet… Are you trying to escape Sandra – san's icy behavior?" Akemi asked back.

"Guess so… But I also need that to escape from that other girl… She's starting to accuse me of ditching her even though we'd never said we were a couple…" Beta X sighed.

"Oh, I know. She's the jealous type. Andy - kun is somewhat dull when it comes to this. He barely says anything but "good morning" when we meet which is often given how we both are part of Vice President _Noir_'s department…" Akemi muttered aloud.

"Vice President _Noir_…? It's gotta be some code-name…" Obihiro muttered as he looked at the map screen.

"In contrast to VP _Noir_, President Hades is always very direct in the sense that he asks for our direct opinion and is always open to suggestions and ideas. Slur – sama lacks… how should I call it… social instinct… despite that Her Grace has a brilliant mind when it comes to battling or complex programs… President Hades always speaks like he thinks he's abusing of her will and Her Grace is always amused by that…" Beta X exposed.

"President Hades… Vice President _Noir_… Curious: both are associated with "death"…" Yuuichirou muttered as he drove.

"Ah. We're reaching the rendezvous spot…" Akemi commented.

"True." Beta X confirmed.

Obihiro zoomed on the map but at that moment the red dot turned right and vanished from the map altogether: Obihiro cursed and inputted some commands.

"An underground parking…! Luckily the radio feed still comes out in a normal manner… We should try to get close but not too close either: let's say 250 meters from there." Obihiro suggested.

"Alright."

"I hear a car's engine… I guess it's the black Toyota which ran away from Akihara City Hotel… I'd stake my beard on it, even."

"… Welcome, Suzuki – san. It's been a while, fair lady." Kage's voice rang out with some dryness to it.

"Don't be so dry, Kage – kun. Let's go over the details of Operation "Scare", shall we?" Suzuki replied.

"Heh, heh, heh. Today's gonna be an exciting day, yessir." Zarashe could be heard chuckling.

"You stay quiet, Zarashe." He sentenced.

"Man. Always acting as if you were the CO…" Zarashe grumbled.

"Got any complains then tell them to Boss."

"Jeez."

"By the way, Kage – kun… Will you stop aiming at me from behind the door with that Beretta M92F already?" Suzuki asked of him with a slight hint of annoyance.

"My bad. I'm wary of who comes in and out."

"Well. As laid out in the schedule, I will be in the DNN's team and use my position to draw Mr. Interloper to Point S. That's where those two come in and… Where are they? I thought we were all meeting here?" Suzuki suddenly asked.

"They gotta be about to arrive, I'd say… They called five minutes ago saying they were close by…" Kage shrugged.

"… 250 meters from the spot… What do we do?" Yuuichirou asked Obihiro after he pulled to a halt.

"Hmmm… I'll go down and check the surroundings. I'll contact you over the phone, sir, and… Huh?"

Obihiro heard someone knocking on the window and spotted Enzan standing outside and looking slightly surprised: Obihiro lowered the window too.

"Ijuuin – kun! What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing. We're in the midst of a Cyber CID field mission… Tracking "Golden Star"…" He announced.

"What! So you knew she was one of them?"

"… "The media are anarchy's right arm"… Going by that, we discreetly looked around by someone young who'd joined them… And we saw that her PET had a golden Alphabet letter like Zarashe's we thought it was possible… We've been remotely observing her movements ever since five days ago but she hadn't contacted anyone nor did anyone contact her at all until we saw you and that private eye go in and out." Enzan explained with a grin.

"Oh I see… Well: she stepped into a microphone and transmitter I carry inside of chewing gum and thus I'm hearing into their talk… They're talking about some DNN program, "Mr. Interloper" and Operation "Scare" whatever they mean." Obihiro explained.

"Kage is there?"

"Yeah. The black Toyota which ran out of Akihara City Hotel could be there too… And they're expecting another two members."

"Enzan – sama, sir… Look, sir, a scarlet Subaru, sir…"

Enzan and Obihiro looked to see a scarlet Subaru going inside of the parking: both he and Obihiro ran towards there and snuck inside through one of the doors to then hide next to a row of parked cars: Enzan aimed the PET at a CCTV camera.

"Plug – In. Blues, Transmission."

The imagery by the camera showed the scarlet Subaru parking to Suzuki's bike left and the driver's window (foreign car hence driving wheel is in the left side) lowered.

"Yo~! Suzuki! Kage! Zarashe! We've come! I've been waiting all week long for this. Joanne the Vile Sniper came! Hah, hah, hah!" A girl's voice rang out with obvious amusement.

"Jeez. That of "Vile Sniper" is silly, Joanne – chan!"

The girl named Joanne looked like she was around Suzuki's age: her hair was tinted black even though some patches of brown hair could be seen beneath it and her eyes' irises were brown.

She seemed to be wearing a black leather one-piece suit which covered her body starting slightly beneath the shoulders.

Her Link PET was colored purple and black and its symbol was the Alphabet "L" character surrounded by a golden edge.

"Come on, Lily! Be more imaginative!"

"Jeez. I'm not."

Lily was a Navi who had a _Goth_ look to her given her use of heels, two metallic loose bracelets in her forearms and a collar with spikes protruding from it around her neck.

Her helmet's forehead had the word "Goth" engraved on it using scarlet red letters and her eyes' irises were also scarlet red: her expression denoted annoyance.

The bodysuit's predominant color was black with some patches of white scattered like stains there and there.

Her overall profile hinted at her being selfish and smug.

_Joanne and Lily… That woman's a sniper…!_ Enzan thought while making a grimace.

_It's gotta be the "Ms. Sniper"…!_ Obihiro realized.

"Yo. Felix Leiter. Say something."

"… My surname isn't… Leiter… Joanne…"

"Jeez. There you go with your dryness and dullness."

"My bad."

"Say, Tom… Are you ready for the job?"

"Hmpf… I obviously am… I'm no _amateur_ or rookie!"

There was a teen guy on the passenger seat who had short brown hair which had been cut into a military haircut but was largely hidden by a grayish cap with no logos on it whatsoever: his eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses too.

He wore a sleeveless camouflage-colored vest over a black long-sleeved shirt plus a pair of jeans.

His gray and brown PET had the golden-colored Alphabet "T" character drawn as emblem surrounded by a black edge.

"That's the Tom I know."

Tom was a Net Navi who could easily be around a meter and eighty tall and he had the looks of an assassin to him given his cold scarlet red irises and the total lack of emotion on his face.

Other traits included self-inflicted cuts over his upper chest which looked like a count of victims: a total of 17 cuts had been engraved in there insofar.

His main bodysuit color was gray combined with red armlets around the ankles and wrists: his hands had an extra layer of "skin" colored brown and he also sported a utility belt around the waist set with some grenades and knives on them plus a Makarov pistol.

Lastly, he had a pair of binoculars protected by their fund hanging from his neck using a brown leather band.

"Alright. Should we move out?" A voice asked.

"What the fuck! The bitch!"

Joanne suddenly climbed down from the car and ran towards the rear left side of the black Toyota which Zarashe was driving: Bertha happened to be sitting on the middle rear seat and looking calm: Joanne began to bang on the window with her right fist.

"What's this bitch doing here? Don't tell me this bitch is supposed to take part in the strategy!" She growled as she banged on the window as if to express her mood.

"… Joanne – san. You are not acting rationally. Please return to your vehicle." Kage drily told her.

"Miquel! You fucker! What does this mean?"

"Simply means that President Hades thought her disguising abilities could come in hand if we need to resort to the backup plan…"

"What backup plan? Are you screwing me?" She cursed.

"No. One always has a backup plan. But it may not be necessary if you make a good shot." He calmly told her.

"Hmpf! Of course I will! I've got an aunt in the JSDF for something and she was intelligent enough to show me the art of sniping! I know we can only shoot tranquilizer bullets but I don't care!" She scoffed.

"Maybe you desire to complain to President Hades and Vice President _Noir_?" Kage offered.

"Fuck, no."

She walked back to her car and climbed inside before slamming the door shut and impatiently tapping the driving wheel.

"You two go on ahead and set up the camp. And remember Rule 14: no in-fighting beyond words." Kage told them.

"When did ya become the Boss?" Joanne grumbled.

"I'm just making a suggestion. Or do you want to complain about that to President Hades and Vice President _Noir_ too? Call them if you want: we've got time before 11:45 PM. It's just 10:38 AM." Kage shrugged.

"Hell no. I don't wanna antagonize our bosses. But if I see that bitch trying to leech ya out then I'm gonna put a bullet on the back of your heads for real!" She threatened.

"This is the 27th time she's said that since August." Andy whispered to Kage without looking impressed.

"Hmpf. Alright." Kage kept on being unimpressed.

"Let's go, Felix!"

"Roger…"

The scarlet Subaru roared and ran out of the garage while Bertha shrugged and hummed a tune.

"So! Let's get moving towards Kiraaha Park. Boys and girls." She smugly suggested.

"Roger that. Handle the driving, Zarashe."

"Roger that, Capt'n." He grinned.

"How paranoid…" Sandra muttered.

"Let's meet at Kiraaha Park: after all the aim of the strategy is to "scare" Mr. Interloper by showing that there forces interested in him not making it to the post he's running for… _Ciao_."

"Later, guys and gals."

Suzuki's bike drove away while the black Toyota turned on its engine and silently came out too: Enzan pressed the button on his PET and retrieved Blues before he and Obihiro returned to Yuuichirou's car: Obihiro had left the receiver there so that he could hear the talk.

"This is turning complicated. They seem to want to scare someone of taking a post… Do you know anything, Ijuuin – kun?"

"Yes, sir. The DNN is interviewing former KCK Director Sorodo Tantokan – dono who will be the successor to the Chief of the Net Police by appointment of the current Chief who is going to retire. His KCK connections and instinct might be something they are afraid of hence why they would go and try to scare him off."

"And where's Kiraaha Park at? The name sounds like "Killer Wave" and it reminds me of some other attack in some _anime_ which also ends in "ha" but I don't remember which it was…" He trailed off.

"That I don't know. I think the DNN won't tell us so openly and we don't want to call the team and say we're Net Police's Cyber CID…"

"…because they might pull off and we'd lose our chance to figure out more stuff about them, you mean?" Yuuichirou guessed.

"Yes, sir. Obihiro. Where is Suzuki heading to?"

"The DNN Station… Undoubtedly."

"Obviously… She's gonna go there with the whole team and with their van so we'll either have to wait for them to get there or try to see if there's a logic to "Kiraaha Park"…" Enzan muttered.

"Kiraaha… It sounds familiar, somehow…"

"Ki – ra – a – ha… Ha – ki – ra – a… Hakiraa? No, no… Ki – Ha – Ra – A… Kiharaa? I think I've heard of a girl named Kisara somewhere but… It's close yet…" Obihiro tried changing the letters.

"Kiharaa…? Got it! Akihara! Akihara Park!" Enzan realized.

"An anagram… Like they did with Omenda – san… Surely Zarashe thought of the name which sounded misleading enough…"

"Then let's get there and in position: it's close to 11:00 AM and their operation kicks off at 11:45 AM…!"

"Roger!"

The car started up and Yuuichirou climbed into the expressway while Obihiro looked at the iPod Touch 3's screen and listened to the receiver from which the beeping of a PET rang out.

"What's up?" Suzuki could be heard asking.

"Just double-checking, Suzuki – san… Call me worry-wart but sometimes tragedies happened because no – one acknowledged a message or checked it properly…" Kage told her.

"No problem. The team is ready and we're about to head for Kiraaha Park in the DNN van." She reported.

"Suzuki – san… There's some noise in the line… And there also was when you contacted me earlier… Any ideas?"

"Well… Bad reception or interference by other devices, I'd rather say given how I am underground…" She hesitantly replied.

"Oh. Look. Joanne – san's and Felix's car…" Zarashe muttered.

"This checkpoint thing is silly." Joanne grumbled.

"You never know."

"_Hey_! Joanne! _Good luck_…" Bertha called out and there was a noise like she blew a kiss at her.

"Goddamned BITCH!" Joanne cursed aloud.

"There they go: they've gotta hit the 150 km/h mark by now and I wouldn't be surprised if they beat all records… When Joanne – san gets angry it's better to run for your hide." Zarashe muttered.

"Sure." Kage drily confirmed.

"Well then, meet you there."

"Roger."

"Tee, heh, heh." Akemi giggled.

"How much time…?" Enzan asked.

"Another 15 minutes… We'd get there around 11:25 AM and with enough time to get into position and try to think of a way to stop them from carrying out their plan. I know they only plan on putting him to sleep but I feel like we shouldn't let them score another victory: it would be bad for the morale." Yuuichirou told them.

"Alright…"

"… Suzuki – san: we're leaving!" Someone called out.

"Roger!"

"Leaving rolling and dicing." Akemi made up a rhyme and sounded proud of it, even.

"You could patent it, you know?" She suggested.

The car continued across the expressway and then climbed down a ramp until it reached the parking lot adjacent to the park: both youngsters ran towards there and they failed to notice that the black Toyota had already arrived and had parked close by: Kage and Zarashe were looking at feed from a moving camera which showed the interior of the DNN van with the staff aboard it chatting.

"5 minutes to destination." Someone told the staff.

"Joanne – san, Felix. Are you in position?" Kage picked up his PET and called out to them.

"Yeah. I am in position and I feel SO bored." Joanne replied.

"Don't go hunting sheep out of boredom or you'll be scolded by both President Hades and Vice President _Noir_."

"I know! Fuck. Guess I'll try to solve a _Sudoku_: they're stimulating for the brain anyway." She grumbled.

"All ready… A sniper always holds their breaths while waiting for the moment of truth… Joanne… Do not forget it…" Felix slowly and dully reported over the PET.

"I knew that, veteran soldier!"

"Roger…"

Bertha, however, was glancing behind her at the car where Yuuichirou was listening to the receiver and using a Sub PET at the same time: she seemed to be frowning.

_Hikari Yuuichirou – hakase…? If my eyes didn't fool me then… The ones who just jumped off the car were Ijuuin Enzan and Obihiro Shun… Could they know, somehow? Well. This has turned promising. Can you actually halt the gears of fate? Heh, heh, heh. Here's a challenge from Golden Star's "Ice Queen"… Try to stop us! Tee, heh, heh._

"… Oh look. They're there and have begun to unload everything… There's our man: and his KCK bodyguards…" Zarashe grinned as he signaled the screen's imagery.

Indeed: the camera now focused on a man on his late forties or early fifties who had blackish hair and whose face was clearly shaven yet he had a sharp profile to it as if indicating he was like a restrained force which could sweep through everything: his eyes' irises were brown.

He wore a simple black suit over a shirt, a bluish tie, pants and shoes and appealed to be around a meter and eighty tall: two bodyguards slightly taller than him flanked the sides.

"Sorodo Tantokan… An excellent-breed Doberman waiting to jump into us and mincemeat us…" Kage formed a smug smile.

"He'll soon wish he'd stayed in his beloved KCK HQ."

"So true."

"I can see the target! When do I get to shine?" Joanne asked.

"Wait until Suzuki – san makes him seat on the bench." Kage quickly replied.

"Roger! Oi, Felix! I'll have right. What's your pick?"

"Left…"

"Suit yourself, then! I can feel the thrill pulsating through me… I was fed up with mere VR simulations! I don't care if it's just putting the guy to sleep for a little while… The message will be clear enough and before they can react we'll pulled out. We can always say some half-hearted bunch of idiots did it." Joanne laughed.

"Plausible scapegoats…" Felix muttered.

"Hmpf. As long as we get to shoot…" Tom shrugged.

"…it doesn't matter. Tee, heh, heh." Lily grinned.

"… Do excuse me, sir, but could you please sit over there? I'm just going to apply some make-up for better image and attach the microphone. Is that alright for you, sir?" Suzuki asked Sorodo in the meanwhile.

"No problem: do your work, miss."

_So? How are you gonna stop us, bad boys?_

"… Oi… You gotta be kidding me…"

"Again…?"

"Jeez."

"How annoying."

"And they said it'd break up by now."

"What the heck? It's raining in there?"

Rain had suddenly begun to fall around the area and everyone opened their umbrellas: Zarashe frowned as he stuck part of his body out of the car's window to look outside: rain began to fall over there too and Zarashe pulled back while he rolled up the window.

"Damn it. And they said there wasn't gonna be any more rain. Rain Man comes back with a vengeance!" He sarcastically cursed.

_I see… Water… Sprinklers… You must've hit the rotating piece off its place and the high-pressurized water shot skywards to then fall down in the form of drops… And you were lucky that it started raining here too so that it wouldn't look unusual… Tee, heh, heh. And your goal was to make everyone open their umbrellas and thus block the sight of our snipers with them… Bravo, bad boys. Bravo._

"… Sorodo… navy blue umbrella… Do I shoot…?" Felix reported through the radio.

"No. Wait. With that umbrella in the middle the chances of succeeding decrease." Kage argued back as he looked at the feed.

"Fuck. What do we do? Achoo!" Joanne cursed.

"Pull out, all of you. Suzuki – san, find an excuse to break off. But I guess they'll tell you they don't need you anymore for today or something like that. We meet at Point Limehouse." Kage commanded.

"Fuck! Fine, fine!"

"So? Will you brief us into the backup plan?" Bertha smugly asked as she leant forward towards the front seats.

"Yeah. When we get at Point Limehouse…"

"The backup plan is risky. But it'll work." Andy muttered.

"Sure thing." Beta X seemed to agree with it.

"Well. To Point Limehouse we go…" Zarashe shrugged.

"Lime a house?" Sandra grinned.

She giggled at the joke as the car left and Yuuichirou looked over there: Enzan and Obihiro made it back on that moment while looking largely relieved.

"Phew. We managed to pull it out, somehow."

"What will you do?" Yuuichirou simply asked.

"They won't give it up so easily. That's why I've called Superintendent Oda to drive us towards their meeting point. Thank you for your help, Hikari – hakase, but we'd prefer if you headed back to your office, sir. This is a job for the Net Police's Cyber CID." Enzan told him.

"Alright. Here's the receiver. Good luck."

"Thank you."

Yuuichirou drove away and barely two minutes later Oda's car came in: Enzan climbed in the front passenger seat and Obihiro in the centermost rear seat.

"NNW from here for about 2.8 kilometers…" He guided.

"Point Limehouse… Limehouse… I guess it's a real name and it must have a meaning of some sort…" Enzan muttered.

"It's a London district next to the River Thames and known for its docks and maritime activities…" Blues reported.

"So I guess it's somewhere close to the sea… Maybe a warehouse…"

"Yet the name hinted at it being an occasional place: they must have some stuff ready there in case it's needed." Obihiro argued.

"By the way, Laika – kun came. He landed in secret two days ago and contacted me ten minutes ago: it'd seem he was suspecting what we were doing out today's morning and I told him what you'd summed up in your mail to which he merely replied "I see" and cut me off."

"He must be Holmes." Enzan sarcastically muttered.

"No, Uncle Moran was hot on his trail."

"Chut! I'm hearing several engines and now voices… Kage is the lead voice… I'm gonna switch to speakers…"

"… At 13:00 PM Sorodo's car will cross the bridge. That's where we'll show him what we can really do. This time, though… You two will be on reserve and not directly intervene…" Kage was saying.

"What the fuck? Reserve?" Joanne scowled.

"I'd like to… shoot…" Felix drily complained.

"It won't be the same thing, you two. Sorodo's car has bullet-proof windows and two big macho bodyguards cover his flanks. So you can see that sniping won't help this time." Zarashe told them.

"Even if you could get through the thinnest side-window the bullet would be wasted on a bodyguard."

"Then how the hell do we get to knock the guy out? Stand butt naked in the middle of the bridge and try to hitch-hike?" Joanne let out her bad mood.

"Uncle Merton would never approve of that." Oda muttered.

"No – one would." Enzan wasn't surprised either.

"My, Joanne. Now you're talking."

"Bertha. You bitch."

"You called?"

"Go away, vampire."

"I hear a motorbike's engine…" Obihiro reported.

"She must be on a bike, then." Enzan deduced.

"I'll simply feign an accident in front of his car which will force them to stop and come out." She calmly announced.

"Do you think such a guy will easily come out?"

"Don't worry! Men are all the same: they see a bleeding woman on the midst of the road they feel like they should play hero and thus tend to them…" She laughed.

"What if they see your face? Do you wanna show up in all newspapers' front pages and be recognized by someone?" Joanne kept on being skeptical about the matter.

"Have a look."

There was a sound and Joanne grumbled something while Zarashe made a little chuckle.

"A face-mask, see! Black hair and brown irises… Plus some fake blood trails included… I wouldn't recognize her myself!"

"So this is why the bitch gets to shine." Joanne fumed.

"You two will be on reserve and handle the bodyguards."

"And I will come out from behind and deliver the sleeping draught made by the witch…" Suzuki's voice rang out with a hint of sarcasm along with the sound of a car's door opening and the zipping of a zip.

"… Kage… Location…?" Felix asked.

"Fate's Bridge."

"Fate's Bridge? Is there such a place?" Enzan wondered.

"I'm pretty sure there isn't." Oda frowned.

"… Certainly, sir. There isn't, sir." Blues confirmed.

"Another code-name, then…" Enzan concluded.

"Wait. They're going over a map… Maybe they'll mention the name of a nearby landmark…" Obihiro hushed.

"… Felix goes there… And Joanne – san over there…"

"Acknowledged…" Tom replied.

"Heh! So we get to shine in the end." Lily smugly announced.

"Are you ready, Martha – chan?" Akemi asked.

"Yeah. Bertha – san, where is my bike?" Martha asked.

"There, behind that container…" Bertha apparently signaled.

"Thank you. Let's meet at Fate's Bridge."

"_Ne_, Martha." Bertha suddenly called out.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"You wouldn't be…"

There was a knocking sound which sounded like Bertha was hitting the speedometers with her knuckles.

"…this?" She finished.

"… Of course not, ma'am… Please don't say nonsense…"

"What was that…?" Obihiro wondered.

"Dunno. Maybe she was asking if she was the one who took her bike out and depleted the deposit." Oda suggested.

"It's not crazy." Enzan admitted.

"Anyway, I better get moving. Something about this strategy gives me the creeps." Bertha addressed the others.

"Is something troubling you, Bertha – san?"

"Oh. No, Miquel… Just a woman's paranoia…" She settled.

"… Alright. You guys. Move it. Joanne – san: drop Felix on his spot and then head to your spot with the car."

"Alright, Boss…"

"I am not the boss, mind you." He reminded her.

"My little payback…" She seemed to shrug it off.

"Ah. No trouble then."

"They're moving out… They're about 2.4 kilometers from us: they're going pretty fast. Let's try to solve this new code…" Obihiro told them.

"Alright… Fate… Unmei… UN – ME – I… UNIME… IUNME… MEINU… Meinu Bridge! It's gotta be the answer!"

"12:04 PM… We can get there with enough time to corner them and catch one of them! I'll order for a car to follow Sorodo – san's car from a distance as well…" Oda smiled.

"Seems like we only gotta wait until we get there so I'll turn this off because now we know what their aim is." Obihiro shrugged as he switched the receiver off.

"I suddenly felt weird… Like something bad was about to happen but I guess it's my imagination…" Enzan suddenly admitted.

"No, no. Uncle Moran is hot in your trail too, Ijuuin – kun."

"Very funny, sir." He drily replied.

"You wanna patent Dry Man?"

"I don't see the need to, sir." Enzan simply argued back.

"I don't either!" Obihiro protested.

"Let's gamble on Gamble Man and Gamble Woman." Oda's grin grew even wider to their increasing dismay.

"How ridiculous." Blues fumed.

"Oh! How Ridiculous Man saved the world!"

12:10 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Bertha – san: are you in position?"

"Yeah. I'm waiting for instructions. Martha got there?"

"No, not yet. I've gotta check with the snipers too."

Zarashe was talking with Bertha over the PET: the screen displayed how she'd changed into a black leather zipper one-piece suit with riding boots and one purple motorbike helmet: her bike was halted outside of the road next to a hill heading until the river.

"By the way, Zarashe, you've got some static in the line…"

"Huh? Well… My bad. Miquel's radio must be interfering."

"… Ah… No… My imagination… Don't mind it…"

"If you say so…"

"Joanne – san: status? Over." Kage requested over his PET.

"In position and ready! View: perfect! How 'bout cha, Felix?"

"No problems either…" Felix reported.

"… _A View to Kill_, even!" Lily giggled.

"Hmpf…" Tom didn't find it funny.

"Heh! Good catch." Zarashe grinned.

"Guess so!" Beta X shrugged his shoulders.

"How about you, Suzuki – san?"

"Well! There's some traffic here but I expect to be there in about 7 minutes at this speed…" Suzuki (who'd put on a leather one-piece zipper suit too and white helmet) reported.

"Contact me again once you're there and ready. The timing is crucial if we want to pull it off as scheduled."

"Roger that. Over."

12:18 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Excuse me, miss! We've got some questions to ask of you. Would you be as kind so as to halt the bike?"

"What? Oh! That's…!"

"Net Police's Cyber CID…! How did they know we were here…?"

Suzuki had kept on driving when Oda's car suddenly pulled up at her right side (the left side had a hill's sliding descent) while Enzan displayed Oda's ID to her: she then spotted another two cards which slowed down to surround her.

"Surrounded…!" Suzuki muttered.

"Not yet! There's a way out!" Akemi whispered.

"… Alright… We can do it." Suzuki seemed to be resolved.

"Please pull to a stop!" Oda called out.

"My bad." She suddenly replied.

She speeded up instead and climbed up the front car to stop atop the roof in a dominant pose as if deciding where she had to jump to next: the driver of the car suddenly spotted a small child who ran into the road chasing a soccer ball.

"Kami – sama!"

He instinctively spun the wheel leftwards as he hit the brakes and pulled up the hand brake to bring the car to a halt after having it spin 90º in a mad manner yet it did stop inches from hitting the child who'd just picked up the ball and had obviously not realized what he'd done: Suzuki's bike was sent flying and she fell off it into the now empty road: the blow made her helmet jump away and she rolled across it before stopping: the bike hit the hill and its gasoline deposit exploded thus setting it on fire: Oda's car and the third car stopped as well and everyone immediately disembarked.

"By all the…! What a tragedy!" Oda gasped.

They rushed over to Suzuki and spotted she had a blunt trauma on a side of the head and was bleeding: Oda carefully picker her.

"Drive her to the nearest hospital! I'll come later! Take the PET as well and try asking things of the Navi but don't force them."

"Eh… Superintendent…? Is this normal…?" One agent seemed to be surprised by something inside of the PET.

"What?"

"The Navi has the same wound and is leaking some data… She looks unconscious too…" The agent reported.

"How odd." Enzan frowned.

"We can settle that later!"

Oda placed the girl in the rear seats of one of the cars which sped off while one agent was speaking with the child.

"Bad child! You must realize this is not a place to play and it's dangerous to come down: you should've asked someone to help you! You could've had an accident too!" He told him.

"Sorry, mister…"

"Go home and tell your parents."

"Yes, mister…"

The child climbed back the stairs while Enzan looked troubled as he looked at the scene.

"I thought this woman was supposed to be the disguised Bertha. And it was Suzuki. How do you explain this?"

"W-well… The tracer was pretty far from here and such I thought that by elimination it had to be her… But since it'd seem she's changed clothes at some point she must've left the shoe with the bug elsewhere…"

"Yeah. Guess so. The problem is that I think that the place in question is their car… What are we gonna do?"

12:24 PM (Japan Time)…

"… MIQUE~L! YOU FUCKER! WHAT AM I WAITING FOR! WHERE'S THAT LITTLE RASCAL? ANSWER ME YOU FUCKER!"

"I'm not deaf."

"ANSWER ME I SAY!"

"I haven't been contacted yet. Heavy traffic, I guess."

"STOP SCREWING ME WITH THIS BACKGROUND NOISE~!"

"Background noise…? Hmmm?"

"What's wrong?"

"Stay quiet!"

Kage and Zarashe had been waiting in the black Toyota when Joanne began to yell over the radio startling Zarashe but not Kage who was unfazed until Joanne mentioned "noise" and he suddenly looked at a paper bag in the rear seat: he rummaged inside and brought out Suzuki's right shoe to then look at its soil and spot the chewing gum: he peeled it off and grinned.

"So that's how it was." He muttered.

"A tracer…? Or a bug…? Or both…?" Zarashe asked.

Kage took out a Swiss Army knife and calmly split both devices apart before crushing the tracer and then wrapping the microphone in some layers of cello-tape: he tossed it inside of his coat's right pocket.

"Andy. Call Boss."

"Alright."

"What's wrong, Miquel – kun?" A soft manly voice asked.

"Kendo, private eye… He set a bug and tracer on Suzuki – san and we've lost contact with her so I think he's tipped off the Net Police's Cyber CID to capture her… We'll have to cancel the strategy."

"So you wanna make him confess? How?"

"Simple. Leave it to us, Boss."

"Try to be as less violent as possible and don't go around swapping the ammo!" The man commanded in an icy tone of voice.

"Don't worry, Boss. If he doesn't yield we'll make him dance around the floor of his office before he chats." Kage made a smug smile.

"Do you need Legato to go over to there?"

"No, no. Keep Legato where it is, Boss. We'll handle it. Just give me the go-ahead. I'll report from the scene before making a move."

"Fair enough. Later."

Kage dropped his grin and turned serious again as he cleared his throat and opened another channel.

"Strategy cancelled. Target shifting."

"CANCELLED! YOU GOTTA BE FUCKING ME!"

"I am not. Boss gave me the go-ahead… Kendo, private eye, is our new target… And we're going to pay him a little visit."

"Kendo…?" Bertha sounded surprised.

"I hope you're trying to do pull a loophole." Sandra warned.

"No, no. I'll report from the scene and he'll decide what to do."

"That sounds better." Tom muttered.

"Acknowledged…" Felix replied.

"Can't be helped…"

"I'M SO GONNA FUCK YOU ONCE THIS IS OVER, MIQUEL!" Joanne threatened over the radio.

"That's a first." Andy drily noted.

"And last. Vain as all the others."

12:48 PM (Japan Time)…

"… What in Merton? They've pulled out and left a bike behind? Where are they heading to?"

"Back towards Akihara City it'd seem…"

"The tracer has vanished and the microphone's signal is very bad. I don't like the looks of this!"

"Which district?"

"4th, I think…"

Oda had kept on driving when a broadcast by an agent came in and everyone was surprised: Obihiro began to look worried as the map screen was blank and he was trying to hear what was going using the earphones yet he didn't seem to be having much success.

"Oh hell! I think I know what they're doing: they must think Kendo – san had something to do with the disappearance of Suzuki – san and thus must be trying to get some answers outta him!" Obihiro realized.

"Fuck! Which means that they found the tracer and the microphone yet they thought Kendo did it even though they know you were there: they mustn't think you're the type to go around using such espionage tools to begin with…" Enzan cursed.

"U – Turn! Let's head back!"

Oda turned around like mad and was followed by the other car as they ran down the road back the way they came from: Obihiro strained his hears and began to hear something.

"… It's true, then? Kendo told the Net Police's Cyber CID where Martha was at so they captured her?" Bertha was asking.

"Yeah. The guy has a reputation of being smart-lass and only someone who visited her very recently could've planted that bug. So it's gotta be him by elimination… We're gonna get some answers out of them and scare them too…" Kage was replying.

"Alright. But don't go over the thin red line."

"I told you Boss will be briefed before giving us the go-ahead and deciding if it's worth it or not." Kage insisted.

"By the way… Why didn't you destroy the bug while you were at it, though, Miquel?"

"If the guy planted it he must be feeling confused: I don't want to have him realize we've found him out yet…" Kage chuckled.

"Oi, Miquel! Where do we take positions?" Joanne asked.

"The building in front of his office… From the photos in Street View I can see that the office looks out into the street and there's a building just five meters taller than the first floor in front… We come in from the rear up the fire stairs and then aim from there… We'll cover the guy's back and they'll be unable to escape." Kage detailed.

"Roger that!"

"OK…"

"Shit. This is turning ugly. We need to find a way to show them Kendo – san is unrelated to this mess while stopping them from trying to force non-existent answers from them…!"

"We'll be there in about 2 minutes…" Zarashe reported.

"Let's hope we aren't chasing a red herring." Andy suddenly muttered aloud.

_Which you are doing!_

"Don't be so pessimistic." Beta X shrugged.

"Who knows?" Sandra didn't seem to care either.

"Hmmm…" Bertha seemed to be thinking about it.

"Speed up, Superintendent! We gotta intercept them somehow!"

"Hold into something!"

13:09 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Alright. We're in position. Aim for the NW and NE corners of the desk to cover both flanks…"

"See? The guy has an earphone on!"

"Hmpf… So it's him after all… Can you hear me, Kendo?"

The "Golden Star" guys and girls had taken position in a rooftop looking directly across the street at a small office where Kendo was sitting on a chair and giving them the back while doing something which they couldn't see.

"Where's Suzuki – san? Or, rather… Where was she when you told the Net Police's Cyber CID where she was at? How much did they pay you? Did you have a debt from gambling? And thus you sold a client? If you feel like answering then… Move your right hand away from that earphone. I'll count down from ten but if you don't reply then we'll start to shatter all glasses there until you tell us something… Do you approve, Boss?"

"Alright. But don't hit anyone else."

"Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven… Six… Five…"

_A waste of time… You've picked the wrong man, Miquel. But I want to see how you find that out. _Bertha inwardly grinned.

"… Four… Three… Two… One…"

CLING!

"What in the…?"

A bullet suddenly flew past the bug and pierced through it before hitting the handrail and bouncing off: the snipers immediately turned around and looked at a tall building not too far away.

"There! Behind, 10 o'clock direction!" Joanne announced.

"B-but isn't that building WAY too far away?" Zarashe argued.

"Interlopers! Give me this!"

"O-oi!"

Kage yanked Felix's rifle off his hands and focused towards the aforementioned building to spot the sniper: he gasped when he recognized Laika and his cold face.

"Sharo Army's Laika…! And Search Man…!" He uttered.

CLING!

"Whack!"

A bullet suddenly flew through the telescopic sight shattering it and making a small cut on the right cheek while Laika formed a smug smile given how Joanne's rifle fell slightly short of hitting him due to the distance between them.

"This is for my Unit's pride." He muttered.

He shot another two shots which seemed to bounce off Kage's jacket although he erratically stepped back and panted before looking up and forming a smug smile.

"Payback, huh… Let's pull back! We don't want to start a shootout and I think I've screwed it up big. We'll settle this at the home base! Let's move it on the double! Move, move!" He commanded.

"That bastard… He grinned at me…! I'm so gonna fuck him!"

"That'll come later! Hurry or we'll be caught by the cops!"

The five of them climbed into the two cars which sped away while Laika placed the safety on his rifle and smiled upon seeing Oda's car stop in front of the agency: Enzan and Obihiro looked around, confused.

"Alright, Search Man. I guess I'm staying here for a while: things just turned interesting."

"Acknowledged, Laika – sama."

_Their strategy failed: I predicted they'd come here and waited for the right moment… Golden Star! This is but the start! Showdown!_


	9. Chapter 9: Machinations

**Chapter 9: Machinations**

11:11 AM (Japan Time), Sunday February the 25th…

"… Good morning, Chief, sir. Allow me to introduce myself: Oda. I am in charge of the Cyber CID…"

"My predecessor talked highly about you, Superintendent. I've been reading these reports on "Golden Star"… In my opinion they deserve being the focus of our investigations… I got a draft saying you captured a member yesterday. Have you questioned them?"

"I am sorry. But that's impossible."

"Why?"

Oda walked into an office where Sorodo was sitting behind a desk and looking at some documents inside of a folder: the office had broad views of the landscape as well.

"They had a bike accident and received a blunt head trauma which knocked them into a coma." He summarized.

"Didn't they have a Net Navi?"

"That's the strange part. The Navi ended up falling into a similar coma-like state _at the same moment the Operator did_…!"

"How's that possible?" Sorodo was clearly surprised.

"Hikari – hakase spent awakened most of yesterday's evening trying to figure it out… His preliminary conclusions in simple words are that the Navi was "synchronized" to the Operator's biometric data relayed by a network of intravenous nanomachines and a chip implant on the brain… Their consciousness program got locked up by a biometric password which will only unlock once the EEG readout reaches the accepted standard value for "consciousness"…" Oda summed up.

"Hum… Wasn't there a system in which Navi and Operator ended up synchronizing and the Operator could enter the Cyber World too? I believe you experimented with it in the past, too."

"Full Synchro? That happens when the frequencies of the Navi's program and the Operator's brain happen to match up and then they create some kind of feedback: the Cyber World treats it as if a program came inside of it thus an avatar for the feedback mind of the Operator is created inside of the Cyber World and allowing for faster coordination and reflexes while working together while the body is pulled into a sleeping-like status by the phenomenon…" Oda explained.

"So this is somewhat the inverse, right?"

"Correct, sir. It's a new technology altogether and analyzing it is going to take several days. We did check her inboxes but found nothing: there was a program which helped ensure total removal of the data and thus not even Obihiro – kun could retrieve anything from her laptop or from her PET… The call logs had been erased too. Her normal bike was found at their "Point Limehouse" but we seized nothing of interest there. The abandoned bike had been wiped clean of fingerprints too." Oda sighed in defeat.

"Did you try to locate any family?"

"We did but found no – one so I guess her family name is a fake: but she did get into her post by her own merits and not with someone opening up a door." Oda replied.

"Hum. They seem to be pretty well organized. Cars, bikes, hi-technology, snipers, field agents, rules, high-power Net Navis… They must've been slowly growing in a secretive manner ever since the defeat of that gigantic beast… What was its name again?" Sorodo rubbed his chin.

"Super Cybeast Greizer… And it'd make sense they've spent the whole time ever since 2007 just to grow."

"I see. Thank you for the briefing, Superintendent. We're going to have some complicated spots from now on but priority one is concealing the location of the captured agent." Sorodo dismissed him.

"Roger that, Chief, sir."

"So they want war… They'll have it." Sorodo muttered.

11:44 AM (Japan Time)…

"… So?"

"No dice, Boss! We searched the most obvious places but no – one seemed to know anything about Suzuki – san."

"Lovely."

"What do we do? Continue searching?"

"Something must've happened to her on the road: there has to be a witness somewhere."

"Could be, yeah…"

"Does that wound hurt?"

"What? The bullet's grazing? Not so much anymore."

"That Laika guy… How could he be there ahead of us?"

"Hmpf… No big mystery… We thought Kendo was the one who set the microphone and all but it turns out it was Obihiro, the genius hacker guy Hikari – kun used to talk about."

"Ah, yes, yes. Your former classmate…"

"Kendo was unrelated."

"You're being quiet, Andy - kun."

"Hmpf… I don't need to barge into their chat, Legato… And you'd better off not trying to leech on me from behind again…"

"Of course, of course… Don't be so hostile if you may."

Kage was discussing with a person cloaked in a black monk's cloth including a heavy hood hiding most the face: the interlocutor appealed as being around a meter and seventy tall and some inches taller than Kage himself while Legato walked over to Andy.

"So? What do you suggest? Safe-houses, detention cells…? Or somewhere unexpected, like, say, an abandoned underground station?" Andy asked.

"Hard to say at this stage…"

"Please don't be so quickly to feel defeated, Vice President _Noir_, sir. There could still be a chance. Suzuki was trained and she has a strong personality besides the Net Police won't dare to do anything but speaking and asking questions. They're civilian police, after all."

"Guess so but I'm worried about Laika butting into the picture. That guy holds grudges, obviously enough." _Noir_ sighed.

"Come on! He's a foreign serviceman and this is Net Police's Cyber CID jurisdiction to begin with. He can't do anything but ask of Ijuuin what they've found out insofar and analyze Akemi's data at the Science Labs yet it's just that: he's come as reinforcements to handle their current short-of-useful-hands status…" Kage calmly told him.

"You're right, Miquel – kun. But I can't help but feel wary whenever the guy shows up. Remember what he did to your friend back when their first meeting! And then what Colonel did too… Military CAN'T be trusted! And even more Sharo Army, with their history of purge, repression and the _gulag_ system!" _Noir_ increased his voice's volume and stood up all of a sudden before bringing both fists (still inside of the sleeves) down on the small work desk (filled with memorandums, folders, documents, pencils, pens and seals) which sent some of them flying.

"Whoa! Calm down, Boss!" Kage was surprised by his outburst.

"… Sorry. I must look like an idiot to you. Really." He grumbled as he sat back down on the chair and looked elsewhere.

"No. You got hot-headed, that's all. It happens to everyone. How many days have you spent here as of late, anyway? Why don't you go out into one of the storerooms and open the windows to ventilate and cool off a bit? I'll go out with Zarashe to the café close by: there's a soccer match which I wanna see." Kage made a welcoming smile.

"… Alright… True… I need to cool off… Legato: you're off-duty but I'd be glad if you could try compiling a sketch of the situation and add some ideas as to how to search for Suzuki – san."

"Roger, sir."

"Well, see ya 'round." Andy calmly told Legato.

"Take care."

"Thanks."

Kage came out of the room and closed the door to emerge into a bleak concrete corridor which looked like it was part of a worn down building somewhere: fluorescent lights contributed to lighting it and wooden doors with cello-tape-affixed banners (or rather pieces of paper) contained the hand-written names of each room and this one read "VP _Noir_'s Office Room" written in a slightly irregular manner.

"The HQ is no wonder but it'll do for the time being while "it" is being constructed… Which should be ready by May or June… Bah. This old abandoned port bureau building will do fine for the time being since we aren't in need of high-tech stuff apart from laptops. I'll go pick Zarashe on his quarters and let's get moving there. It's a nice morning after all and maybe we'll get some ideas there." Kage muttered.

"Guess so. It won't hurt to get distracted for a while. Lily – san directed me several hostile glares yesterday but I guess those were because Joanne – san got pretty annoyed… One should learn to remain cool and collected if they want to be a decent sniper!" Andy rolled his eyes as he showed up with the life-sized hologram.

Kage shrugged his shoulders and was about to knock on a door labeled "Zarashe" when he spotted another door further down the corridor which was slightly open and someone glancing out with a hostile brightness to their eyes.

"Joanne – san. Now you're going to say Zarashe and I are a _yaoi_ couple or what?" He dully called out.

"Hmpf!"

SLAM!

"Girls…" Andy muttered while being unfazed.

"Yo! Miquel. All ready? I just finished reporting to Mr. President too and his secretary. Good stuff, you know." Zarashe grinned as he came out followed by Beta X's life-sized hologram.

"Zarashe – kun. That was being rude." He scolded.

"Come on! It ain't like walls have ears!"

"Is that so?"

"Yikes!"

"See?"

Zarashe gasped and turned around to see a woman standing in the corridor that was looking down (literally) on him and appealed to be on her thirties.

Her face's shape looked nice but if one tried to look at it as a profile then it lost most of its charm.

She wore a black hat set to that it hid her gaze and she wore a black blouse plus a pair of jeans and rain boots: her hands were covered by gloves as well.

"Young Zarashe. I do think I deserve an apology for your rude comment on my persona." She icily told him while speaking with a marked foreign accent.

"Ma-ma'am…! I… was just kidding and…" He nervously muttered while stepping back.

"If I see you thinking of vulgar things about me again then I shall complain to President Hades. You have been warned."

She turned on her heels and headed down the corridor: Joanne glared at her from inside of her room: she made a grimace and slammed the door shut while Kage was already walking away and Zarashe was running down the corridor to catch up with him as he opened a door leading into the main stairs.

"Don't slow me down, Zarashe."

"Man! You're so stiff…!" Zarashe grumbled.

"At least I'm not a social failure like Felix."

"Yikes. Alright, alright."

"Guess we gotta return to the normal size: we don't want to call the attention but hardly anyone will repair on us given how they'll be glued to the TV match." Andy calmly told Beta X.

"Roger."

Kage and Zarashe walked off a large concrete building built in the southern edge of a rather deserted avenue: a rusted bus stand could be seen standing close by along with some decayed warehouses: both headed into one of the warehouses where the black Toyota had been parked at: Kage unlocked it and sat on the passenger's seat while Zarashe picked the driver's seat.

"Next stop: the bar!" Zarashe grinned.

"Yeah. I know."

"You know who Mr. X is?" He asked next.

"What "Mr. X"?" He seemed to frown under the sunglasses.

"The cyborg _ninja_ in _MGS2: Sons of Liberty_, ya know."

"Oh, that. Everyone knows." He shrugged it off.

"Everyone knows our Uncle Moran will challenge Uncle Merton to a Trumps showdown and will win by betting on Jameson."

"That's a load of crap I don't need to hear to."

"Jeez. You sound so… Occidental. Really. Try to be more Japanese or has that uncle of yours influenced you?"

"No. That bastard will be dealt with when the right moment comes. And the bastard tried to have its accomplices get me so I fled. That's when I got recruited into Golden Star: my knowledge of these criminals was useful and they'd make sure that they wouldn't get away with it."

"You mean to say that the local police were controlled or bribed by those fuckers then?" Zarashe guessed.

"Right. I guess I broke one or two's arms and one's nose. But they deserved it. Enough of the past. We're here."

"Yessir!"

The car pulled to a stop in an empty parking spot and both climbed out to head for a small bar filled with activity: they picked a corner and sat down on the chairs while most of the customers were looking at the TV where a presenter was standing in the TV box of the stadium looking down there and being excited.

"Oi, waiter! Soda and mineral water: room temperature." Zarashe called out to one of them.

"Roger."

"…4 to 3! 4 to 3, I say!" A customer exclaimed.

"2 to 1."

"What a defeatist!"

"You mean realist."

"They'll sweep through them and score 2 in the first half and an extra one in the second half while they won't get past their defenses so it'll end up 3 to 0! My word, my fellows!" Yet another customer exclaimed.

"So? Wanna bet?" Zarashe grinned.

"Rule 17: bets going over 100Z are forbidden."

"Come on! 5Z that it ends 3 to 1!"

"5Z? Well then… I say 2 to 2 and extra time." Kage seemed to get in the mood as he faced Zarashe.

"Alright then!"

"Here are your orders, fellow conspirers."

"Oh. Thanks and… What? Fellow conspirers?"

The waiter had brought their drinks and suddenly smiled on them: Kage violently seized his head from behind and made it hit the table as he drew his Swiss Army Knife and tried to stab the side of the head yet the knife pierced through a latex mask and got stabbed into the table.

"Bertha – san." He icily announced.

Bertha giggled as she shook off the remains of the mask and adjusted her hair's length.

"Come on! I caught you two betting on vanity."

"There's not a rule saying betting on vanity is not allowed as far as I remember unless you've submitted a draft of it."

"Tee, heh, heh. That sounds so alike you, Miquel… I already seized some juicy information." She whispered.

"What?" Kage sounded surprised.

"Ijuuin. I've been trailing him and acting like Holmes: a different disguise each time. He didn't seem to notice anything, though. And he went to an intriguing place: Akihara Central Hospital. We could send one of those third party men there to check it out." She whispered.

"Akihara Central Hospital… Well. We won't lose anything by sending one of those guys to check it out, true."

"By the way… Is this the wound of yesterday?" She asked as she pointed at an already cicatrized scar on his right cheek slightly below the right eye's lower edge.

"Yeah. The son of a bitch marked me and it's his way of shooting out the grudge even though I've never met them and Burner Man went there on orders from Boss and not mine. But since I'm the closest man to Boss he thought this applied to Boss too." He grumbled.

"Sorry, big boy. Anyway… Do you think I should tell this to Mr. President and wait for results? Let's give it 5 days' time."

"Sure thing."

"… GOAL! GOAL! GOA~L! At 8 minutes 44 seconds into the game Nagoya Rage's best shooter, Inao, scores a magnificent GOAL!" The commentator suddenly exclaimed.

"Oh yeah!" Zarashe and Kage exclaimed.

"Eat this!" Andy and Beta X excitedly uttered.

"Boys will be boys. I'm off to my subtleness. Do your best." Bertha giggled and blew them a provoking kiss.

"Hmpf!" Kage was unimpressed.

"Yikes."

"Do your best, big boys…" Sandra teased.

"Yeah, yeah. We know that tune." Both replied.

"You could be twins, even!"

"Eh…"

"Hum…"

"Tee, heh, heh!"

"Ho, ho, ho…"

Bertha came out of the bar and the four of them quickly focused on the soccer match again.

"… GOAL! GOAL! GOA~L! At 17 minutes 58 seconds into the game Inao sweeps through the enemy's lines again! What an amazing speed! What coordination! What power!" The commentator exclaimed.

"I'm so gonna win the bet!" A customer exclaimed.

"Wait and see, lad. The game's but started. Who knows? Maybe the others are feigning weakness but will then counter with such power that we'll be the ones to get busted instead!" Another customer warned while sounding wary.

"Who cares? Go, Inao, go!"

"Go for it!"

"We'll get the Japan Cup this year as well: my word!"

"Blow them away! _Fight_! _Fight_!"

"Things are getting exciting!" Zarashe exclaimed.

"Sure." Kage calmly replied as he sipped some water.

"Are you sure there's nothing weird there? You never know, with Bertha – san's moods and all…" Zarashe whispered.

"Have you forgotten? We all have intravenous nanomachines which break down foreign chemicals into harmless structures or rebuild them so as to not to be dangerous for the organism." He calmly replied.

"Oh true. Well. For Inao and the Nagoya Rage!" Karashe grinned as he help up his glass of soda.

"For Inao and the Nagoya Rage, yeah." Kage grinned.

"And if the Cyber CID guys believe they've scored a goal let them wait until we return the kick: we'll pound them into the ground." Zarashe whispered next.

"I'm sure Mr. President and Boss will come up with a very intriguing strategy fitting to handle those guys."

"Count on them: they're the geniuses who met and started the whole deal after all." Kage shrugged his shoulders.

"Heh, heh, heh. Those guys will suffer a new defeat: let's see how they sink into the depths of despair." Andy chuckled.

"If only they knew… Our future ace-in-the-hole…" Beta X teased.

"But they don't know… And they're afraid… _Very_ afraid…"

"Afraid of our hidden power…"

The four of them chuckled under their breaths…


	10. Chapter 10: Deluxe rescue

**Chapter 10: Deluxe rescue**

17:28 PM (Japan Time), Friday March the 2nd…

"… Well. Here am I, Ijuuin – kun. What's up?"

"Follow me."

"Roger."

Obihiro (carrying a navy blue backpack) stepped into the foyer of Akihara Central Hospital and was greeted by Enzan who simply made a gesture for Obihiro to follow him: they walked down a corridor and climbed up the stairs to the 3rd floor to then head down another corridor and stop in front of a room with no patient name: Enzan knocked on the door and it unlocked so he stepped into an unoccupied room where Oda and Laika were waiting at: Enzan closed the door behind them.

"We've got a spy." Enzan went straight to the point.

"What!" Obihiro gasped.

"A patient has been asking around if there's a fellow patient named Suzuki and described her: it's obvious that it's an external party hired by Golden Star. They're trying to figure out what happened to their operative." Laika smugly explained.

"I see. Do we have an ID on the guy?"

"Yeah. Follow me and we'll sneak on the guy. We also figured out they were faking an illness because their instincts betrayed them." Laika continued.

"Their instincts…?" Obihiro was surprised.

Laika signaled for him to come and both came out of the room to then head down the corridor into a waiting room where a man was giving them the back.

The man looked on his 30s and had messy blackish hair plus traces of a two-three day beard: his eyes irises were brown and he looked rather bored.

He wore the typical hospital pajama plus the socks and sandals together with a collar for the healing of cervical sprains.

The man bought a can of black coffee from the machine and began drinking it inclining his neck backwards: Obihiro realized it just as Laika patted his shoulder: they pulled out and returned to the meeting room to reunite with the other two.

"I see! If he really had a cervical sprain he'd be unable to incline his head backwards to drink!" Obihiro realized.

"Kuwahashi Tanoko: thirty – four. Single… He has some debts which are being paid off by Golden Star at a slow and steady manner so as to keep him leashed and make sure he doesn't run off at a minute's chance: they want a full report on the patients. We'll allow him to get the records because Suzuki isn't registered anywhere. And then we'll investigate how he reports to Golden Star so we can keep the appearances up once we seize him… The police are interested on the guy given a petty theft which he did half a year ago…" Laika exposed.

"I see. Do you want me to investigate if I can found the guy's bank account and see from where does the money come from?"

"Do it. We've picked this empty room as temporary meeting spot: Suzuki is in another room and there's always one agent watching over her but the medics say she hasn't evolved." Laika told him.

"Roger that."

Obihiro sat on a chair and used a movable table to place his notebook computer atop it: he began to work with it while Enzan looked out into the street from the window.

"Do you fear Uncle Moran is using his X-Ray vision to check beyond the walls of the building, Ijuuin – kun?" Oda joked.

"How unrealistic, sir." He drily replied.

"Aunt Moran will come to say bye and hi."

"Oh. Not again." Laika groaned.

22:57 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Fua~h… Night watch sure is bothersome but luckily almost nothing tends to happen at such hours…"

A nurse in the nurse station was yawning as she drank a cup of coffee to stay awake: Kuwahashi snuck towards there and waited in the corner of an unlit corridor while peering at the spot: he drew a remote and pressed a button to make one light in the panel flash.

"Jeez. The lady in Room 458 needs something again…"

The nurse ran off and Kuwahashi snuck into the nurse station with a Cannon digital camera on his right hand: he began to read the panel and take photos.

_Suzuki… Suzuki… Well. Ain't here… I'll have to tell that man who is paying off my debts in exchange for this little job… He did admit he wasn't sure they'd be there and I dunno why they want to find them. Anyway, let's go back before another nurse comes up._

"Hey! What are you doing there?"

_Yikes!_

"Huh… Eh… That's… I lost my way trying to find the toilets. I thought there'd be a map." He improvised as he hid the camera.

"Well. The toilets are over there. Now please come out."

"S-sorry."

Kuwahashi walked out but hit the edge of a desk with the camera making it fall into the floor, intact, but it was spotted by the nurse: he gasped but the nurse merely crouched and picked it up for him.

"Here you have."

"T-thank you."

He stepped out of the station into the unlit foyer and suddenly stopped as his expression became hostile.

"You know… You've just seen my camera and you must've obviously though I came here to take photos of the patients but even so didn't say anything…"

He turned around to face the nurse who was unfazed and had a serious face to her: his eyebrows narrowed with suspicion.

"Who are you really?"

"Aunt Moran, you see, my fellow."

"What?"

"Net Police's Cyber CID! Don't move! Raise your hands."

"Net Police's Cyber CID? Oho. This looks like a film even."

Oda, Enzan, Laika and Obihiro (the later three hiding in the unlit portions) along with two armed plain clothes policemen ran in aiming their guns at Kuwahashi who calmly lifted his hands and looked amused.

"You're under arrest for the robbery of 5,000Z off a house in Nagoya half a year ago. There's a search warrant on you." One policeman announced.

"Come. We don't want to startle the patients."

"Oh. Then let's wake them up roughly with… _this_."

He suddenly took out a grenade from his pajamas' pants' right pocket and held it up: everyone gasped.

"He's got a grenade…!"

Laika and Obihiro silently pulled back without Enzan and the others noticing: Kuwahashi placed his right index finger inside of the safety ring while making a smug smile.

"Don't move! Or I'll blow up the nurse's station!"

"Damn." One policeman cursed.

"Heh, heh, heh…"

"He's running away!"

"Maybe he wants to retrieve something on his room: let's go after them ASAP!" Oda commanded.

"Roger! Blues! Access the corridor cameras on the route to the guy's own room!"

"Yes, sir. I'm on it. Huh? I don't see him in the corridors or the elevators but I see him in… the parking lot!" Blues reported.

"Damn. He must've read our minds!" Enzan cursed.

The group ran off through the front door just in time to see Kuwahashi speeding away in a greenish Subaru car followed by Laika and Obihiro who were riding in a bike.

"Laika and Obihiro! They read the guy!" Enzan realized.

"Good!" Blues looked animated.

"Oi, Laika! Catch them before they can contact Golden Star!" Enzan called out through the PET.

"I know. But if he has some device on hand he can use it to call them right now…" Laika argued back.

"Don't worry, Laika – san! I snuck into his room when he'd gone out for coffee and removed the battery of his cell-phone!" Obihiro called out with a broad grin.

Laika looked on ahead and spotted the man tossing a cell-phone out of the car's open passenger window in obvious annoyance: Laika halted and quickly picked it up to pocket it before resuming the chase.

"He mustn't have a plan in mind: maybe he's hoping to lose us but that won't save a desperate guy with little to no brains…"

"Watch out!"

BANG!

"Fuck!"

"He's armed!"

"The car had a gun on it then! I'm sure it's his."

Laika had to duck to dodge a bullet shot by the escaping car: he turned on the engine at max and caught up with the guy: he purposely let the bike drop towards the left to hit Kuwahashi's arm and made him let go of the gun: Kuwahashi cursed something under his breath and speeded up only to turn towards an abandoned house which was largely boarded up and then halt there: he jumped down and ran inside slamming the door shut behind him and seemingly barricading himself given the sounds.

"Hmpf. He's cornered and with no contact lines. He'll eventually have to give himself up: this cell-phone will tell us how to contact those guys and send them a report." Laika muttered.

"Kuwa~h!"

"What the hell?"

Kuwahashi suddenly let out a yelp of terror before bright blinding white light escaped from within the gaps in the boarded up windows spreading in all directions and forcing both Laika and Obihiro to shield their eyes: the whole thing lasted under 5 seconds and disappeared as quickly as it had vanished to be replaced by silence.

"What happened? Obihiro! Can you try popping your head through one of those gaps?" Laika requested.

"Alright."

Obihiro jumped down and managed to crawl inside of an opening in the ground floor's window to look inside: the house was bright and totally devoid of furniture yet there wasn't anyone and no traces of other exits whatsoever.

"Empty! This reminds me of something… Oh yeah! The mysterious disappearance of the bribed man, Hosoyoda, from Akihara City Hotel, equally bizarre… There's no doubt: Golden Star rescued him and they'll be coming here… Tomorrow." Obihiro reported after coming back.

"Tomorrow… So this is how it's gonna be…"

23:19 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Mr. President? I am sorry to disturb you at such a late hour but we've got important news…"

"Do come in, Zarashe – kun and Bertha – san."

"Tee, heh, heh."

Both Zarashe and Bertha walked into what seemed to be a living room of Western style given the fireplace set on the right wall which was burning with a real fire and a red leather armchair where someone whose figure couldn't be clearly discerned could be seen: both Navis walked in as life-sized holograms too.

"Beta X – kun and Sandra – san too… So we have news?"

"Yes, sir. We rescued our agent and he confirmed my suspicions: Martha is indeed in Akihara Central Hospital and the Net Police's Cyber CID is camping there. Right, Wan?" Bertha grinned.

"Yes, sir. Laika is there too but I don't think they'll dare move her around because Suzuki – san is in a coma as her chip implant and nanomachines told us." Zarashe added.

"We've been thinking of a plan to make them reveal the location of her room by making use of human instincts." Sandra grinned.

"We are pretty sure that it'll succeed: if they dare to flee then we'll be ready to pursue them and given an opportunity rescue Akemi – san from them." Beta X added.

"Splendid, ladies and gentlemen. I'll talk about it with Vice President _Noir_ in the morning and then we can get on the move. The Net Police's CID will soon see how cunning we really are I daresay." The man sounded rather pleased.

"Roger."

"You might head back."

"Good evening, sir."

23:39 PM (Japan Time)…

"… It's madness to remain here, sir! We MUST move her! We should take her to another hospital or clinic!"

"It's not that easy, Ijuuin – kun. I know she isn't dependant on machines to continue alive but I don't dare move around a comatose person."

"And I don't think we'd get very far either."

"What do you mean, Laika?"

The two policemen, Oda, Enzan and Obihiro had gathered in the meeting room and Enzan looked hysterical, for once, while Oda didn't want to hear about the topic: Laika came in at that moment.

"I've spotted one or two figures in the adjacent building: they might the two snipers sent to recon the area and decide the best sniping positions if we dared to go out through either the front or the rear doors. So going out normally is foolish and they'll surely be ready to chase us if we try to leave in a vehicle." Laika exposed.

"Their heat signatures were very faint too… They must've developed a system to hide from IR scanning too…" Search Man warned.

"Fuck! So what's this? State of siege? What do we do?"

"We won't flee. We'll fortify ourselves there and get ready to greet the wolves who've come to rescue their stray pack member…" Laika smugly announced.

"That's a strategy?" Enzan looked skeptical.

"We've made a mistake, though."

"What?"

"We rushed too much into trying to catch Kuwahashi: we could've simply let him finish and have already copied his cell-phone's contents into another cell-phone for analysis." He pointed out.

"Well. That's true, yeah…" Enzan muttered.

"What worries me is that he had an infrared thermograph on his room which could be used to survey the interior of a building or vehicle from the outside." Laika commented.

There was a knock on the door and Laika lifted his eyebrows: he opened it by a minimal slit and talked with someone outside before allowing them inside the room.

"A unit companion of mine… The backup I requested… Ian Torolov. 16. He has been in the unit since young like I was… Outstanding record… His Net Navi Kakarov is an automated army model skilled in information gathering and infiltration…"

"I am glad to be of help."

Ian Torolov was a young man around sixteen years old who appealed to be one or two inches shorter in height than Laika.

He had brownish hair combed in a neat manner and brownish irises as well: his face profile indicated seriousness.

He simply wore the same Sharo Army uniform Laika did.

"They'll be coming for real tomorrow morning so we should prepare a pull-out plan just in case. But let's remember about the infrared thermograph: they'll know how many persons ride in each vehicle from afar. So first priority is trying to avoid involving staff or patients into this but luckily they won't come openly brandishing machine-guns: they are the sneaky type who will exploit some weakness or another which we won't see coming." Oda told the group.

"By the way, sir… Wireless and cell-phone used should be avoided as much as possible, right?"

"Correct. You have my number in case of an emergency but all other communications will be done face-to-face. Only a few know Suzuki's room number which must be kept secret no matter what."

"Roger!"

"You're dismissed. We need some sleep… Before the battle."

09:49 AM (Japan Time), Saturday March the 3rd…

"… then I told the boss about how the guy spent the time betting on horses so he got kicked off and stopped sucking off money. Really. People can be so brat-like from time to time."

"Oh yeah."

"… and so Monica's cousin by the way of her father happened to meet Garodo – sama, the actor who did the villain in _Salvage Adventures 2: Return of Sebastian…_"

"No way… And she got his sign too?"

"… Inao went and made mincemeat of them! We did score two goals in the first half but then they turned defensive and started to give us trouble and in the end Iano scored the turn-around in the extra time! What a goal the guy did! Wasn't that simply AWESOME, man?"

"Oh yeah, so awesome! It'll go down in history!"

CRASH!

"U-ugh…"

"Mr. Customer? What's wrong, sir?"

"S-stomach aches… Sorry…"

Several customers were having meals in a café somewhere and chatting when one accidentally made a glass hit the floor while clutching their stomach.

"Ugh! Me too…!"

"Grah…! My stomach…! H-hospital… Need a… hospital…!"

"By all the…! And here I thought I was immune to these things…!"

"Someone… ambulance… ugh!"

"Call for an ambulance… please…!"

"Hurry it… up!"

10:05 AM (Japan Time)…

"… The Line 3 train with final stop on Densan City's 5th district is coming through platform 4. Please stay away from the edge and allow exit before entry…"

"… Oi. Don't you feel a weird stench?"

"Gasoline?"

"No… Not gasoline…"

"Someone's totally horrid perfume?"

"How rude!"

"Sorry, miss!"

"Hey! I feel… dizzy… what's this stench…?"

"Ugh…!"

"Y-you alright, man?"

"N-not really…! This stench is making my throat ache…!"

"I feel like my throat is burning…!"

"Station chief! Call a medic, an ambulance, whatever! Our throats are aching… Hurry!"

"A-alright…!"

Several passengers had been waiting for their train to come into the train station when they began to notice a strange stench and some of the collapsed while others clutched their throats: a station chief began to run around while checking on the customers: another joined him as they covered their faces with cold masks.

"You're not gonna tell me this is mustard gas!"

"No! It isn't but it sure makes me remember that…"

"Call for an ambulance!"

10:17 AM (Japan Time)…

"... thus you're the culprit!"

"H-how did you know?"

"Nothing escapes _meitantei_ Dragoon!"

"_Meitantei _Dragoon, you say!"

"Get ready, you villain!"

"Ni~h! How frustrating!"

"… I didn't see that one coming, really!"

"I didn't either: Dragoon's cool! Guess he's pretty much a Holmes wannabe to begin with but hey he's cool."

"So true, man."

Several persons had come to see a movie and were whispering in an animated manner when suddenly an alarm rang out and the lights turned on: everyone gasped.

"Fire has broken out in the 7th floor. Please evacuate immediately following the attendants' instructions!"

"No way!"

"Fire, they say!"

"Please stay calm! There's no imminent danger! This is the 2nd floor after all! Evacuate through the fire stairs! The fire-fighters are on their way here by now!" An attendant instructed.

"A-alright!"

The customers began to evacuate and some looked at the smoke coming out of the 7th floor: the fire-fighters rushed over to the building and a cameraman with their partner came to see.

"The Akihara Shopping Stores' 7th floor storage room is on fire but it'd seem that area is off-limits to customers so…"

10:22 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Oi. Laika. Do you see that smoke rising from there? What do you think it is?"

"… Them."

"… Superintendent Oda? We have no such patient."

"No, I was told he's a friend of someone of the staff…"

"Did ya hear that?"

"Yeah. Let's check it out."

Enzan had spotted the smoke from the fire: Laika grinned but Obihiro signaled a delivery man carrying a package and speaking with the reception counter's nurse.

"Excuse me, I know that person. Who sends this package?"

"Let's see… A gentleman named Kuwahashi Tanoko – sama… It's already paid for so…" The delivery man read a piece of paper.

"Ku-Kuwashi Tanoko, you say!" Enzan gasped.

"Yes, sir. And you can guess the contents of the package by their shape as well! Have it, sir. Good morning!"

"T-thanks."

Enzan accepted what seemed to be a pot of flowers surrounded by a small purple-colored plastic wrapping while being bewildered: Laika signaled the exit and the group headed into the parking lot where Oda was discussing with someone over the phone while waiting near a group of three navy blue vans.

"… No, ma'am! This is not the butcher's! I insist, ma'am! I am not the butcher! No, ma'am! this number is mistaken! Do have a good morning, ma'am! Jeez. And they say I'm the one doing crazy things."

"Eh… Superintendent Oda, sir… A package has been delivered to you just now and comes from… Kuwahashi Tanoko."

"WHAT?"

"Have a look."

Oda picked the package and took off the wrapping to reveal some Columbine flowers: he looked at them.

"Columbine… A friend of mine said they grow in Colorado. But I don't see why Golden Star would bother to send them to me."

"… Obtain without fail…"

Obihiro suddenly looked up from his notebook computer and his face turned grave, to Oda's surprise.

"What?"

"Flower language, sir. It also means "certain victory"… It's a subtle manner of saying they're confident of their victory. In short: a challenge to us Net Police's Cyber CID! And it's a joke too: these flowers are named Odamaki here in Japan!" Obihiro explained.

"Challenge, huh."

"… almost there: hang in there!"

"There's no time to waste!"

Several cars began to park in the outdoors parking lot and several citizens began to head towards the hospital.

"Are they persons indirectly harmed by the fire?" Oda wondered.

"This is Rioru, from the front entrance! T-this is…!"

"What's wrong, Rioru – kun?" Oda gasped.

"T-that's…! A mass of citizens has gathered in the front entrance and demand to make their way in: the staff is overwhelmed and there's no possible way to check what they bring with them!"

"What! Then… Craig is there and they all want him to heal them with his King Land dry humor?" He managed to pull a pun.

"Sir! This is not a moment for puns, sir! According to some of them, three simultaneous incidents have broken out in the neighborhood!"

"Three simultaneous incidents, you say?"

"Yes, sir! Massive food poisoning, some kind of throat-irritating gas and a small fire…!" Rioru reported.

"Them." Laika muttered.

"Hum. While you can control when a gas will be triggered as well as fire food poisoning depends on the person and what allergies they might have…" Oda turned serious.

"Maybe they used a drug which simulates those symptoms." Obihiro suggested.

"And all three incidents were designed to cause harm to citizens and have them come to here because it's the closest hospital… But there could be fakes feigning their symptoms like throat ache to sneak inside and then be able to search for Suzuki's room." Oda guessed.

"No. That's not it. That be like they would be allowing us to catch those agents and I don't believe them to go for such an old-fashioned strategy to begin with… There's gotta be something else…" Laika objected.

"… Laika – sama, I have been hearing a noise increasing in volume ever since 38 seconds ago." Search Man reported.

"I have as well. And it's coming from that flower pit, sir." Blues reported next.

"What!" Oda gasped.

"Please leave it on the floor softly and step away."

Laika crouched to examine it and everyone began to hear a tick-tock sound: Laika brought the right hand to his chin and frowned before he lifted the soil with the plant on it and exposed a plastic bag having a large analog clock with devices strapped to its rear inside.

"A bomb…!" Enzan gasped.

"You didn't search the pot?" Oda recriminated.

"We are sorry. We thought they were just flowers."

"… A bomb this size would only blow one car at the worst. It'd call for police intervention. They wouldn't gain anything from it. But it's very real too." Laika analyzed.

"Unfortunately it's rigged with too much traps and it's too complex to disable here without proper tools. The most logical course of action would be taking it to abandoned spot and let it detonate." Search Man suggested next.

"Then I'll go."

"No, I'll go. I need your scanning abilities just in case. There's a garbage dump not too far from here. I should be able to go there with Blues' driving. Do you authorize me, Superintendent?" Enzan interjected and looked at Oda.

"Do it. Pick my new car: it's the one with the roof opening mechanism and colored white." Oda replied as he handed him the keys.

"If the clock isn't rigged we've got about 35 minutes before it detonates but the dump is about 15 minutes from here: there'll be time." Blues analyzed.

"Heh. Making it in just half an hour is questionable. The main roads are bottled up with the traffic coming here. But if you have a driver like me who has a knack for shortcuts then it's another tale." Torolov announced as he walked in.

"Torolov? I thought you'd been assigned to rear door vigilance? Why did you leave your post?" Enzan asked.

"Well. I heard of the chaos so I came to report. Does Mr. Superintendent have some complain about that?" He shrugged.

"No. Laika – kun: is he a good driver?"

"One of the best."

"Excellent. You two go together and dispose of the bomb while we stay here to see what else Golden Star will do next."

"Roger!"

"… It's picking me…" Laika muttered.

"What? Torolov – kun's behavior?" Oda asked.

"No. The bomb." Laika corrected.

"I find it odd they'd bother so much to make a big clock we can all see and set it so that the clock sound would increase in volume and we'd eventually discover it…" Obihiro exposed.

"Then why the heck did they send it to us?"

"We dunno. We'll go see how things are in the hall: maybe we'll get a better idea somehow. Keep the watch on Suzuki ready: someone might get too curious and try to snoop around." Laika replied.

"Alright."

Laika and Obihiro walked out and Oda scratched the back of his head without noticing a nurse walking away from a nearby van and having a smug smile on her face: Oda shrugged and took out his walkie-talkie which he turned on.

"Post 1: status? Over."

"All nominal."

"Post 2: status? Over."

"All nominal."

"Rioru: status? Over."

"A chaos, sir."

"Chaos Man is about to rob you of sleeping hours?" He smiled and came up with a pun.

"No, sir. Because there's no such person to begin with, sir."

10:48 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Torolov… Are you sure I'm going in the right direction? This is totally collapsed and we don't move!"

"I thought your stubbornness would make them move."

"What?"

"Laika said that."

"Oh by all the… The jerk."

"By the way, Ijuuin… Did you put a clock in the trunk? I've been hearing this tick-tock noise for a while already…"

"Fuck."

Enzan had been grumbling while seeing how the car was trapped in the bottleneck and wasn't advancing: Torolov was sitting in the rear middle seat and had his arms folded while displaying a smug smile: Enzan's exasperation grew but Torolov then glanced at the trunk over his right shoulder while looking bored.

"You should've told me earlier!"

Enzan climbed down and rushed over the trunk which he unlocked but it turned out to be empty: he gasped and then looked at the rear seats to see that Torolov wasn't there.

"What a chicken! He fled!"

"Climb in or I'll go without you."

Enzan, bewildered, climbed into the passenger's seat given how Torolov had picked the driver's seat.

"By all the… Do they train you to lie the whole time or what? There wasn't anything in the trunk!"

"Having to give you instructions would be boring and I know some tricks which a Navi can't properly do because they don't have the feeling of the wheel or the pedals. But no offense, Blues."

"Hmpf. You lie to my master and override the car control to manual so I'm obviously untrusting about you." Blues scoffed.

Torolov didn't reply and switched to rear gear: he began to aim the car towards the separating line between both lanes and suddenly jumped into the southern lane: he sped up it in the wrong direction before braking in a brusque manner and rearing while spinning to aim the car south: he accelerated again.

"That was crazy and…! Hey! The dump's the other way!"

"I know. But I gave up on that because we've only got 10 minutes left and there's another place which we can use."

"… Ijuuin – kun? How's it going? The bomb must be about to go off by now, shouldn't it?" Oda called through the PET.

"Torolov has taken the wheel and…! Whoa!"

Torolov suddenly ran into a side alley and into a tunnel: he pressed the button to open the sliding roof and picked the bomb.

"O-oi!"

"Handle the wheel!"

"T-the wheel? Fuck!"

Enzan clutched into it and somehow managed to keep the car going into a straight line just as the car exited the tunnel into a bridge over a river: Torolov tossed the bomb there and it exploded thus forming a plume of water heading skywards.

"W-what was that noise, Ijuuin – kun?"

"Torolov disposed of the bomb!"

"Oh! See? I knew he was a smart chap."

"Anyway! What's going over there?" Enzan asked.

"Laika – kun and Obihiro – kun found a lot of delivery men bringing consolation gifts to already interned patients with Kuwahashi's name!"

"What!" Enzan gasped.

"They're still checking but I had to guess then I'm afraid I know what's in those consolation gifts." Oda sighed.

"Damn it." Blues growled.

"By the way! Is Torolov – kun as good as Laika – kun said?"

"Yeah. I really must be thankful to the guy." Enzan admitted.

"Bad news. I went to a room and found this inside of a fruit basket after passing as hospital security: luckily the person didn't realize my affiliation but someone else will have to handle the retrieval of these little toys which have been scattered over the hospital… Have a look."

The call became an audio plus video call as the holographic screen popped up and Laika showed them a small bomb shaped like a lighter with a transparent plastic case, the plastic explosive, a digital LC counter and a battery which displayed "04:55:31" and was counting down.

"Miniature bombs…!" Torolov muttered.

"Yeah. And one of these would only blow up one room but if several go off at the same time… You can imagine the outcome."

"I can't believe it's turned this ugly! I thought they were totally against killings and they'd only come to retrieve Suzuki but now it looks like they want to silence her instead!" Enzan exasperatedly cursed.

"Well. Good part is that we've got close to 5 hours to find and neutralize these: once you take off the fuse then they can't keep the count-down and are harmless because plastic explosive is not shock-sensitive unlike older generation explosives." Laika calmly told them.

"Good! How many of these are there?"

"We counted the delivery men and if we assume there's one per package then… About 60." Laika announced.

"I'll call some extra hands. After all we must only come in, say we're hospital security, retrieve them and pull out."

"If anyone spots we can say they're listening devices which is part of a new money scam scheme which is on the rise." Laika suggested to the group.

"We're almost there too." Torolov announced as he looked through the windshield at the hospital.

"Excellent. Obihiro and I will remain here: Torolov, leave your coat in the car and thus the chances of being recognized by affiliation will be lowered as well. If they ask you reply that you like green and that'll work. Be polite with everyone." Laika instructed.

"Okay."

The car parked in the parking lot and both ran out: Enzan headed up to the 4th floor and looked at his PET where a list of patients and rooms was being displayed: he knocked on one.

"Come in!"

He came into a room where a mother and a small child no older than 7 or 8 years old were looking at a stuffed bear.

"Excuse me. Hospital security. Someone sent you that stuffed bear as a consolation gift, right?" He politely asked.

"Yes… But I do not know the sender."

"Sorry. Can I ask a question out of Mr. Bear?" He tried to look welcoming to the child.

"Yup! Mr. Bear knows a lot!"

"I'll be brief."

Enzan turned around and opened the rear zipper to take out the plastic explosive which he immediately defused: the child was distracted looking at some cartoons when the image was filled with static and then replaced by something else.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your support. As you can see, I am already fully recovered." A voice announced.

"E-Enzan – sama, sir…! The TV, sir…!" Blues whispered.

"The TV? What's wrong with…? T-this is…!"

Enzan looked over there and spotted Suzuki being displayed over it: she was sitting on a chair next to the bed and looked totally recovered while directing a smile to the camera.

"Who is that child?" The mother wondered.

"Here: Mr. Bear. Thank you."

Enzan quickly made it out of the room and spotted another agent coming out of a room nearby while looking nervous.

"You saw it?" He asked.

"Yeah! Let's go check!"

"Roger! I'll call Superintendent Oda!"

"Opening channel, sir…" Blues announced.

"Superintendent, sir! Suzuki… is on TV!"

"Wha~t?" He uttered in disbelief.

"Yeah! It looks like she's still on her room so we're going up there to check given how there's no direct line there…"

"Do that, yes!"

"… So that's how it was!" Obihiro suddenly exclaimed.

"Tell everyone _not_ to go to Suzuki's room!" Laika gasped.

"Huh? Why?" Oda asked.

"Well… It might be too late anyway." Obihiro sighed.

"Too late…? Don't tell me they got her back already!"

Enzan made it to in front of the room where the other three policemen had gathered and were whispering while sounding disconcerted: Enzan ran past them and into the room to halt.

"What…?"

Suzuki was still comatose as she lay in the bed and had an oxygen mask over her face.

"Now I'm confused." He admitted.

"I am, too, sir." Blues confessed.

"We fell for it. They fooled us and we ended up making them score a victory." Laika announced as he made his way there.

"What? How?"

"They wanted us to come here by broadcasting the edited footage via the hospital's TV antenna." Obihiro announced.

"I can see that. But if we'd said they wouldn't risk sending spies in then how they would benefit from that?" Enzan frowned.

"The toys… The toys scattered across the hospital… Where are they, Ijuuin?" Laika coolly asked.

"The bombs, you mean? Well. I disabled one but still had it on hand when I saw the TV so I rushed here…" He instinctively replied as he and the other policemen took them out.

"Think about it: the timing." Laika hinted.

"Timing…? Oh no! You mean…?" Enzan gasped.

"Yeah. These toys carry a troublesome bonus to them." Obihiro sighed in defeat.

They didn't spot that the nurse of a while ago (Bertha) glancing towards there using a portable mirror to avoid coming out into view: she had a smug smile on her face and so did Sandra's full-sized hologram (also disguised as a nurse) as well.

"See, Sandra? I told cha it'd work: people are so predictable." She smugly announced.

"So true, Bertha – chan. Let's pull out: our duty is over."

11:23 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Heh, heh, heh. Like fan-girls to the star."

"They're gathering fast, aren't they?"

"Room 432, 4th floor… Gotcha."

"Hmpf… Maybe they wanted to be ironic even…"

Kage, Zarahe, Andy and Beta X were seated inside of the black Toyota which had parked not too far from the hospital inside of a parking lot building: Kage had a laptop on his lap which was displaying a map of the hospital plus several dots gathered inside and outside of one room: both Operators grinned and both Navis had smug smiles on their faces while their irises shone with malice.

"Alright then! We can move onto the next part now that we've figured out her room's number and I got confirmation from Bertha – san. This is gonna be fun, man." Zarashe grinned.

"Hmpf… But I wasn't interested in the location of Suzuki – san's room at all, you see." Kage announced.

"Huh? Then… What did you want?"

"I wanted to make them believe we'd figured out the room. Which we really have. The point is that I want to pressure them into thinking that we're gonna strike and such they'll want to flee. Under such pressure then we'll see how they'll flee… Heh, heh, heh." Kage chuckled.

"Oho… I see. Let them feel hysterical and abandon the hospital. Then we should be ready to chase the vans Bertha – san told us about: we should stop at Point Moses and pick the bikes and infrared thermographs as well…" Zarashe grinned.

"Sure thing." Andy grinned.

"It's time to show them how relentless we are. Let's put some "Pressure" into them as if we were Legendary Pokémon!" Beta X chuckled.

"Glory to Golden Star!"

11:29 AM (Japan Time)…

"… A transmitter…! These things had a transmitter which works even if you remove the fuse…!"

"Yeah. The flower pot was a hint that they'd be attacking with bombs. The flooding of the hospital was the necessary camouflage needed to introduce the bombs into the hospital via the delivery men. Lastly, the TV feed was a ruse to make us rush here while still carrying the defused bombs thus giving away the room's location!"

Laika had exposed to the group how the trick had worked like and everyone was still reeling.

"So… What do we do, sir?"

"There's no other way around: we must go for the backup plan. Let's get rid of these and scatter away in the 3 vans hoping to confuse them: we should go by transited routes to make sure they can't assault us so secretly too." Oda sighed.

"Wait. I thought of something with Obihiro yesterday evening: leave some of those transmitters as they are… And my plan is this…"

He whispered something to Oda and Enzan who nodded in understanding and seemed to be thinking about it.

"… Hmmm… There's the chance of this idea working…" Oda seemed to find it passable.

"The only loose end is… Who'll drive the van with Suzuki on it? The driver must be someone skilled." Enzan argued.

"I'll do it." Torolov announced.

"Oh true! With someone like you at the driving wheel then…"

"Torolov. Remember this… _Fear of death is worse than death itself_. But they're not killers so maybe I tend to dramatize a lot."

"Don't worry! It's not like I've got a meek cousin who'll get scared when I get back with a wound or two." He shrugged.

Enzan suddenly frowned and seemed to react to Torolov's words by bringing the right hand to his chin.

_Yesterday, after the meeting, I saw him talking with someone over the PET and he named the caller "cousin" so… Why does he say he doesn't have one…?_

"Hum… Eh…" He timidly called out.

"Is something the matter, Ijuuin – kun?" Oda asked.

"… Nothing. Good luck." He made a weak smile.

"Thanks."

"Let's get moving to the underground parking: there's work to be done anyway." Oda commanded.

Some of the group walked away but Obihiro had a grave look to his face: Laika smiled at him.

"What's wrong? Are you worried?"

"Well… Guess I am, yeah." He admitted.

"Come on. It'll be alright: you just have to trust my intuition."

Both walked away and Enzan followed them into the underground lot where they started to check on the vans: Enzan walked into the restrooms and then returned to see Oda speaking with Torolov next to one of the identical vans.

"Well then, Torolov – kun. When this is over I'll invite you to a good self-service restaurant." He told him.

"Thank you, sir."

Oda walked away and Torolov unlocked the van but Enzan walked over to him on that moment.

"Change of plans. Give me the key: Blues will drive."

"I've got no objections. But won't Mr. Superintendent complain?"

"I'll speak with him. There's something weird about you and I've got one or two questions regarding you… Ooff!"

"Enzan – sama!"

Torolov had suddenly turned around and he delivered a punch to Enzan's stomach thus knocking him out: he switched off the PET and then hid Enzan behind a car by sitting him there: he rushed to climb into the van which now had someone else in the passenger seat.

"Yo."

The passenger, who remained silent, wore a pair of gray pants, a gray zipper vest and a purple cap which hid most of their face: some brownish hair could be spotted and both hands were inside of the vest's frontal pockets.

"Guess you aren't the talkative type. Well. Whatever."

He turned on the engine and joined the queue of three vans ready to come out.

"Van 1: ready."

"Van 2: ready."

"Van 3: ready."

"Vans 1, 2 & 3 are ready, sir."

"Good. Drive safely and with care. Keep your radio lines open in all moments and report anything abnormal."

"Roger!"

"By the way, Torolov – kun… Have you seen Ijuuin – kun around? I thought he was going to talk with you."

"Yes, sir. He gave some advice and left in a rush." He lied.

"Alright, then. Good luck."

"Thanks. Gotta do it right, since I am the "right" van…"

11:49 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Can cha see my camera's feed, Miquel? One… Two… Three navy blue vans! They all came out and it matches the bitch's data."

"Can you try using another word, Joanne - san? Maybe you can say the jerk instead of using such a bold word over unencrypted lines? If Mr. President knew of this he'd be annoyed at this lack of public decency, you see…"

"Alright. The jerk's info matches."

"Good. Then could you please chase the first one?"

"Sure thing…"

"Felix… Yours is the second."

"… Roger…"

"Zarashe. Handle the third."

"Fine. By the way, did the informant contact us?"

"No. But that's a backup plan of Mr. President. I'm not counting on them to begin with. I'll stay here to make sure those vans aren't some desperate decoy. Keep your own radio lines open too."

"Alright. Here we go~!"

"And have the infrared thermograph at hand too! We'll need it to know what's inside of them!"

Kage had looked at some audio and video feed provided by Joanne in which the three vans could be seen coming out of the hospital: he began to issue instructions and glanced the car's left (the car currently being under a small railway bridge) where Zarashe put on a motorbike's helmet and climbed into his: Andy was sitting in the passenger seat and direction a smile at them.

"Sure thing! I always wanted to strip someone. Heh, heh, heh."

"That guy…" Andy grumbled.

"Let them be, Andy."

"Oi! Miquel! I found the first van…" Joanne reported.

"What's the situation like? Over."

"Side windows are tinted… Nothing to be seen…"

"Strip it naked if you may." He grinned.

"Sure thing. Lily! Handle the photo."

"Roger."

A picture formed on Kage's laptop screen: Andy leant closer to look at it too and see that it was a thermal graph showing seven persons (driver and passenger included) aboard it: one person was lying on their back and almost all of them had blinking dots in their bodies.

"Seven fellows and they all have transmitters…"

"See the one lying in the back? It's gotta be Suzuki's stretcher! She must still be unconscious and such need to carry her around like that. I'm resuming the chase!" Joanne exclaimed.

"… Photo taken. Transmitting…" Felix muttered.

"Mine's done too." Zarashe added.

"Hmmm… Felix's photo shows seven fellows including a stretched person but no transmitters… Zarashe's photo has not fellows in the rear and just the passenger and driver both with transmitters…"

"Hard to say… To me it smells like the third van is a decoy. Look at its route on the map: it's just making a gigantic loop to return to the hospital…" Andy argued.

"Well. Yeah. That's true but it could be part of their plan. I smell Laika's hairy hands in this and my scar tells me so."

"Now you're Harry Potter?" Andy looked somewhat skeptical.

"Kidding, man. Just kidding." He shrugged.

"Sorry for the hold-up, Miquel… I found Laika's bike! Obihiro is in the ride as well it'd seem." Bertha's voice came in.

"It took you some time, Bertha – san."

"Well! My bad! But the guy parked four blocks away from here and it took me a while to find him." She apologized.

"The guy's closest van is the one Tom's chasing… He's about 300 meters behind and keeping a constant distance…" Sandra reported.

"Then there's no doubt: Felix's van must be the right one!" Joanne immediately exclaimed.

"Good. I'm gonna join you guys too. I'm bored with just chasing a decoy and the driver knows I'm chasing him: it's another Sharo Army guy who Laika must've called for." Zarashe reported.

"Oh! Wait! Laika's speeding up like mad: he's running ahead towards Felix's van!" Bertha gasped.

"Heh! Settled, then. I'm joining the thrill!"

"Wait for me!"

"If that guy comes… I'll blow out their front tire…" Felix drily muttered over the line.

"Store away the rifle NOW, Felix, then get into a secondary road and change your current course." Kage told him.

"Wha~t? Running away from Laika, you moron?" Joanne annoyingly questioned of him.

"No, I ain't running away. I'm just not dancing to the guy's flute tune because the van we gotta chase is Zarashe's."

"B-but… The van I'm chasing only has the Sharo Army man and a Net Police agent in the passenger seat…" Zarashe argued.

"That's their trick."

"Trick?"

"They wanted us to assume the unconscious Suzuki – san would be placed in a stretcher and in the rear area of the van but Laika calling the attention to one van is a trick to fool a nitwit… No… What they've done instead is dress up Suzuki – san as a Net Police agent and placed them in the passenger's seat." Kage concluded.

"But isn't this van returning to the hospital?" Bertha asked.

"That's a piece of it too. It's a way of admitting defeat because they have no other place to bring her to." Kage grinned as he closed his laptop and placed in on the ground behind the driver's seat.

"So we gotta converge on that van's location then. I'm on it but don't steal the glory!" Joanne exclaimed.

"Of course not. Let's gather all of us at the same time and we'll create a strong impression of our power." He grinned.

He turned on the car and soon joined the bikes in chasing Torolov's van down a road built on a slope next to the river: Torolov accelerated and began to move right and left so as to warn that he wouldn't doubt on smashing them if they tried to pass him: the van suddenly veered madly out of control until it had turned almost a full circle thus crashing with the handrail and halting before a gap: the four bikes and the car halted and Kage stepped out of the car while keeping the driver's door open and hands on his coat's pockets: the other bikers halted as well and they saw Suzuki climbing down from the van while clutching her left shoulder: Torolov was seemingly unconscious.

"Suzuki – san. It's been a while. What happened?"

"Huff, huff… I heard on… that guy's radio… that you were chasing the van so… I used the defused bomb… to hit him… pulled the hand brake… and brought the van to a halt…" She explained between pants.

"But weren't you in a coma?" Bertha asked.

"I was! But I got out of it yesterday evening: the chip implant allowed me to fool the EEG readouts for me and Akemi… Anyway… I feel rather weak so… Can we wrap this up?" She requested.

"Sure thing. Let's just leave a little reminder to those guys. Joanne – san, do mark them with some paint bullets: let's be like in the Far West where the criminals were covered in tar and feathers." Kage grinned.

"Delighted."

"I'll… pass." Felix dully announced.

"Do as you like." Kage shrugged.

"Heh. Don't blame me if you gotta call Sharo and need a new uniform to be delivered via DHL: blame that Laika guy and his idiotic hero – like strategies…!"

KRACKABO~M!

The van suddenly exploded and everyone was pulled backwards by the heat shockwave: they instinctively crouched and looked up to see it burning.

"An explosion? No way! The guy carried a live bomb?" Zarashe cursed as he stood up.

"Maybe the shock from the explosion turned the fuse on or it got short-circuited somehow…? This is gonna be damaging for our reputation, I can see it coming, really." Suzuki muttered.

"… Hmmm… Hmpf… No… Don't worry. As Joanne – san said… Laika is fond of silly things. I'll explain it on the way back: please ride in the car and let's head back straight to HQ." He grinned.

Suzuki climbed into the rear seats and Kage sat back in the driver's seat while looking towards the slope: he grinned and sped away along with the bikes just as Torolov began to climb up the slope while panting: he sat close to the edge of the road, still hidden by the burning van, and dialed a number.

"… Mission… successful… Laika." He reported.

"Good work." Laika congratulated.

Torolov made a weak chuckle and sighed in relief…


	11. Chapter 11: Double agent

**Chapter 11: Double Agent**

12:45 PM (Japan Time), Saturday March the 3rd…

"… WHA~T? Say that again, you!"

"I made it clear already."

"You can't be serious!"

"I am."

Enzan and the others had reunited in the meeting room: Laika looked calm and collected while Obihiro was grinning: Torolov, standing next to Laika, had a band-aid on the right cheek and some burnt marks: Enzan was dumbfounded.

"You can't have PURPOSELY returned Suzuki to Golden Star!"

"We did."

"Why? Suzuki was our only thread to Golden Star! Losing her means we're no closer to knowing Golden Star's purposes and goals!"

"Don't worry: we've made a deal with her." Obihiro let out.

"A deal with HER? She was in a coma!"

"Until yesterday, yes." Laika replied.

"But the EEG…"

"The chip implant fooled the EEG readout." Laika let out.

"By all the…! So that's how she happened to be awakened when she hit Torolov with the bomb?" Enzan gasped.

"Correct. But I didn't tell Torolov. He only knew he was supposed to feign a hit on the head but I didn't tell him he'd get one for real. But his driving skills were necessary to spin the van so that the driver's door was facing the gap in the handrail: he jumped off just as the bomb went off and thus made a successful escape." Laika explained.

"And that gorilla knocking me out was part of your strategy too?"

"Yeah. I told him to knock out any bothersome persons who started to ask too much." Laika replied.

"At least you should've told me." Oda complained.

"I realized there was another insider in the hospital. We had to sound defeated for real for them to believe into it…"

"Do you honestly think they'll believe Torolov died in the blast?"

"Of course not: but I wanted to rob them of the chance to try to humiliate my country's army. Another little payback, and this time because they fooled us with the bomb ploy…" Laika shrugged.

"So! What's the deal with her?" Oda switched topics.

"Aha-hah! That's the meat of the affair, sir!" Obihiro grinned.

"Money? Extortion? Blackmail?" Enzan asked.

"Come on. Do you think we'd steep so low?" Laika sighed.

"Well…" Enzan trailed off.

"None of that. We just asked for her to pass on information to us and to their superiors." He told Enzan.

"Pass info from us to Golden Star?" Oda frowned.

"No. Info from Golden Star to… the KCK." Laika corrected.

"The KCK! But why didn't Chief Sorodo tell me anything?" Oda was surprised by the reply.

"Maybe he'd quit office by the time she was "recruited" into being an inside source. They just wanted to make sure they weren't dangerous for the whole of the nation and Suzuki agreed. She'll send us a copy of the info she collects for the KCK." Laika replied.

"So how did the talk go like?" Enzan asked.

"We recorded it, so… Search Man! Begin playback."

"Roger, Laika – sama."

A holographic screen formed and displayed Laika and Obihiro stepping into Suzuki's room: they picked a pair of portable chairs and sat next to the bed.

"… Suzuki – san, it's pointless to pretend. I studied the EEG records and I've found a 2 Hertz difference between earlier records and records starting at around 5 PM. The chip implant is not perfect." Obihiro began saying.

"… Heh. Guess so…" She made a smile as she opened her eyes and glanced at the two of them.

"We just want to know one thing: is Golden Star dangerous for the nation as whole or not?" Laika asked.

"Funny. The KCK asked me the same thing."

"The KCK, you say!" Laika and Obihiro gasped.

"Oh my. I thought Chief Sorodo would've told you."

"No. And I don't think he withdrew the information: it must've happened after he left his office and began a little vacation." Laika deduced.

"Well. I'd rather say they're not. I mean… Apart from Slur and Legato the other Navis aren't invincible or anything. They have bright and intelligent leaders but in total we're less than 15 persons so…"

"How did you get involved with that?"

"After I finished high school I began this work because I'd having a course on the topic and it interested me. I joined the DNN and one day about half a year ago I got an email from Vice President _Noir_. He said he had a proposition for me and suggested to meet the next day in the DNN's station café. I went there but instead met Kage – kun."

"Kage Miquel… Did he say why _Noir_ didn't come?" Laika asked.

"He said there'd been a "last minute complication" but I immediately guessed the man wouldn't show his hide around and Kage – kun was his spokesperson. I told him to the get to the point."

"And he did?" Obihiro guessed.

"Yeah. He told me they were interested in having a contact inside of the DNN but he assured me they meant no real harm. They just wanted to know if any gossips were scattered around there. He told me they were trying to contribute to "stability". It picked me because most idealists say "peace" instead but they were more realistic by saying they desired "stability" instead." She detailed.

"Intriguing… Please keep on." Laika rubbed his chin.

"Well. I thought about it for some days but I thought it'd be no big deal so I said yes and I was invited to see the HQ."

"Where is it?" Laika eagerly asked.

"Do you know the old port authorities and bureaucracy building in the port district which got shut down five years ago? There it is: we had to put in some furniture and made one or two changes but overall it remains largely unchanged. Everyone has their private quarters too."

"Hum. So they reused this building… Is there some watch or vigilance or anything like that?" Laika asked next.

"Not really sure… They've never mentioned it."

"_Noir_. What does he look like? Age? Height?"

"Age… I'd say around 15 or 16. 170 centimeters… But I dunno his face because he always wears a black European monk's robe with a heavy hood and never takes it off. He makes honor to his codename. He says the reason is because he was in a car accident and his face ended up disfigured: not even plastic surgery could repair that."

"Sounds like a simple story… But there must be another reason: haven't you thought of any?" Laika looked suspicious.

"Maybe he did some petty crime or something and had to flee so as to avoid recognition he hides his face… And no – one can question it since he's the _Vice President_ to begin with… It's not like you'll go to your CO and pull his cap out saying it was a joke, right?" She suggested.

"Of course not. I get the point. The other man. Hades."

"Age: 25 or 26… Height: around 185 cm… He wears a black suit with black tie, pants and a trench coat over it colored gray… Add sunglasses and a brown hat with a black band yet… He likes keeping his living room largely unlit and it's hard to look at his face… He's clean shaven and has brownish hair…" She described.

"Apart from the members we know… Is there anyone else?"

"Yes. There are. A secretary to President Hades, a woman on her 30s with an authoritarian look to her… Almost like a schoolteacher… I don't remember her name but she seems to be very efficient: President Hades always tells her to please not overdo it but she insists she can do any job in a proper manner…" She described.

"I can imagine that." Obihiro muttered.

"Then there's the field instructor, Keitai Denwa…"

"Cell-phone? That's the guy's code-name? Where'd he come from, anyway? JSDF? Marines?" Laika asked.

"No. He was a member of a Yakuza clan who got bored of the whole deal and ditched them by leaking info to both about a weapons cache: they met there and began to kill each other while he slipped outta their gang and then was approached by President Hades. He's a blunt man but he tries to be patient and kind with everyone. He feels proud of passing his skills to the next gen, he says… On his 30s…"

"I see. What about Kage? What do you know about him?" Laika switched topics.

"Not much. He's very reserved but according to Zarashe – kun _Noir_ recruited him in Houston and found his knowledge of those Republican guys useful. He tends to be extremely calm and not fond of jokes at all: Joanne – san's threats don't seem to affect him either. He's good at analyzing a scene and detecting something odd with it. But he doesn't always come to the HQ. He comes and goes. I heard he's doing an online course so he needs most of the week to study and such."

"Hum. Is Andy powerful in battle?"

"I wouldn't be able to tell. They never have Net Battles although no – one forbids it: maybe they feel like they're too grown up to do that. I find it odd because they know it all about the WWW, Gospel, the Dark Four Heavenly Kings, the Darkloids, Nebula and the Cybeasts…"

"I see. What about Felix? Why is he so dry and unsocial?"

"How do you know that?" She frowned.

"Truth is… Back when I came to visit you with Kendo – san… Do you remember how I tripped on the entrance? I dropped a microphone and transmitter I carried inside of a chewing gum ball and when you went out it got stuck to the soil of your shoe. Thus we heard what happened and were able to force the snipers to cancel their attack on Chief Sorodo in the park by breaking the sprinklers: we were lucky it started to rain on that same moment too." Obihiro admitted.

"I see. And that's why you knew where to intercept me… Wait a minute, though. I changed my clothes back then."

"Truth is: we thought you were Bertha – san because the signal was far and we couldn't tell you'd changed clothes until we saw you hitting the floor…" He let out.

"Ah. Well. I have no grudges, really. I was trying to escape but they had to brake to avoid hitting that child… I guess that the second attempt was cancelled too?" She asked.

"It was but your companions thought Kendo – san had told us your location so they tried to scare him into talking: Laika – san here shot them from afar and forced them to pull out."

"I see. Well. What do you think, Akemi?"

"If you want info we'll give it to you. How are we gonna return to the HQ, though? We can't just show up like that. Maybe they don't know we were in a coma."

"I've thought of something."

"Yeah? And what's that "something"?"

"We'll pretend to flee by splitting into three vans which will leave in different courses. Two vans will carry seven passengers including someone lying in a stretcher. The third van will carry a fellow serviceman and you in the passenger seat hidden by a cap. They'll think it's a Net Police member and thus we'll blind their eyes. I'll be following a fake van to make them believe I'm protecting the real one too. But I guess they're smart enough to figure it out so they'll chase the real one. When you hear the driver say that then you'll have to hit them with a blunt object I'll give to you and hold because the van will spin like mad before hitting the handrail and coming to a halt. Then you can join them." Laika exposed.

"Hum. You think on advance, don't you? Can't say it's a bad strategy, anyway."

"So… Felix. What's the guy's problem?"

"Well… As far as I've heard, he was a child soldier in some Asian conflict a few years ago… An NGO rescued him and brought him to Japan where he lived in an orphanage before President Hades recruited him due to his expertise in weaponry. But you know how horrible wars are: he was stripped of his humanity and acts like an automaton. He tolerates Joanne – san as sniping partner but I think that's because he pretends she isn't there or something. Joanne – san had an aunt married to a JSDF commander and she was the type that thought women needed to know weaponry to defend from all those men out there. She's under the same administration as me."

"Zarashe?"

"Japanese orphan in Switzerland… Don't know much more: works for President Hades."

"Bertha?"

"I heard she was the daughter of a politician but wanted excitement elsewhere so she was approached by President Hades: her knowledge of political games was useful too. She's the onboard "Ice Queen"…"

"Hum. What about the Net Navis like Burner Man and the others? Are there more of them?" Laika asked.

"Yes. Including some faces you might know of."

"Can you make a list?"

"Akemi! Do you remember?"

"Of course. To begin with, the guys of "Operation: Trident"… Video Man, Burner Man and Needle Man… The first two are responsibility of VP _Noir_ and the third is Mr. Hades'… Slur – sama is supposed to be the representative of Mr. Hades but he says it'd be a fool's way to try to impose orders into her: he just makes suggestions and allows her to do things as she pleases… Her glare is enough to put even the hot-headed Needle Man into their place." Akemi began.

"Powers?"

"She likes forming cords out of Navis which are very hard to break by mere force: it takes about four or five Flame Battle Chips to burn them and high-power Sword Battle Chips. She can also form swords from her sleeves and is a terrific sword-fighter: even Legato – sama has to kneel in front of her strength." She described.

"Then we're in trouble." Search Man muttered.

"Yeah. I hate to admit it but…"

"Then we've got Cosmo Man: Hades Department…"

"Cosmo Man! I remember about the guy: he worked for Nebula and was deleted in the final battle against "Nebula Grey"…!" Obihiro recalled with a gasp.

"Pharaoh Man: _Noir_ Department…"

"Pharaoh Man… I remember that one too: he was an extremely ancient Net Navi who guarded a power which turned out to be Rock Man's so-called "Saito Style"…"

"Dark Man: _Noir_ Department…"

"Dark Man! One of the "Dark Four Heavenly Kings" who resurrected Forte into Forte GS…! Isn't that an irony? Someone who contributed to Serenade's demise in that group…" Obihiro argued.

"_Noir_ consulted Slur before rebuilding him and she said it wasn't his intention and what Forte did was his own thoughts: Forte had already been punished so he saw no trouble rebuilding him with his memories reset to zero. She said it'd be like re-incarnation."

"Hum. I see. Who else?" Laika asked.

"Yamato Man: Hades Department… You haven't heard of him but he idolized Serenade. When he heard of Slur - sama who was said to have been someone Serenade trusted into he found us and talked to her: he got convinced and pledged loyalty to her. He acts like a _Sengoku_ _samurai_ as if his name wasn't enough of a hint." Akemi described.

"That's all?" Search Man questioned.

"Yeah. That's all as of the present…"

"Say. Why did Akemi go into a coma too?" Obihiro remembered.

"Oh. That. Well. I don't know the total explanation myself but it's because they digitized my DNA string into Akemi while establishing a feedback loop between me and her via the nanomachines and the chip implant. Any serious wound is recreated on the Navi but Navi wounds are not felt by the Operator unless it's a very strong pain in which case they'll feel dizzy and nauseous. Slur came up with that because she believed it was time for an improvement over "Full Synchro"… To make humans and Net Navi become closer to each other… That's what Serenade would've desired and what the great architect of the Network, Hikari Tadashi – hakase, hoped for back in his times." She described.

"An improvement over "Full Synchro"… Wait. Did Kage mention Hikari Netto?"

"Lots of times. He admitted having being his classmate without any reserves: he felt proud to have shared class with a "hero" and he gets cocky when you bring the topic out."

"No wonder. Hikari must've influenced the guy."

"Guess so! Andy also gets into the mood when someone starts asking him about Rock Man too…"

"I see. Well then. That's all for the time being. We've tired you too much, I'd rather say. Tomorrow is gonna be a busy day. I won't tell anyone else until you've been retrieved. Ah! What did Bertha mean by knocking her knuckles on the speedometer?" Laika suddenly remembered at the very last moment.

"NOC… Non Official Cover… She was indirectly questioning me if I happened to be a spy… It'd seem she'd smelt something but didn't want to say it aloud so she came up with that pun… NOC can sound like "knock" too so that's why she made that sound."

"I see. Well. Good evening."

"See you."

The video feed ended there and Enzan looked thoughtful as well as Oda: the others agents also looked like they were deep in thought.

"With this I hope that my actions are justified. We've gained an inside source for our profit."

"Alright. And we've got some new info but there are still many enigmas pending solution. But I'm not gonna forget that gorilla's sucker punch just because of this." Enzan directed a glare at Torolov.

"Orders are orders." He merely replied.

"Come on, Ijuuin – kun. We're tired and such so let's rest for a bit. Or else Uncle Moran will run out of black coffee to give at us." Oda pulled a pun.

"How lame." Enzan grumbled.

"Lame Man shows up with the 4:44 PM express from Surrey?"

Enzan just walked out of the room and closed the door while the others did the same leaving Oda alone to laugh at his lame and totally pointless puns…

13:09 PM (Japan Time)…

"… By the way, Kage – kun… I suppose there'll be no consequences for the hospital, right? I mean…"

"Why should there be? They just did their duty. That's all."

"But don't you find it odd that Laika didn't try to stop us, Miquel? That doesn't look like the guy's attitude."

"Hmmm… True, yet… Whatever. I've something to give them a run for their budget. And they'll see it today."

Kage was driving his car and speaking with Zarashe over the walkie-talkie without looking concerned: Suzuki and Akemi were sitting in the rear seats while Andy occupied the front passenger seat.

"Oh? A secret weapon?" Suzuki guessed.

"Correct, Suzuki – san. A secret weapon it is and they'll soon wish they hadn't provoked me. Of course: this isn't personal. It's just that we want to test it on the tough guys firstly…" He grinned as he slid his right hand's index and middle fingers over the right cheek scar.

"Tee, heh, heh. I foresee headaches and meetings to demand explanations of how we made it through their defenses. Am I right, Andy – kun?" Akemi giggled.

"Yes, Akemi – san. You are correct." Andy politely replied as he looked over his right shoulder at her.

"Oho. The famed weapon will get some field testing in the end? I knew ya were fed up with simulations, right, Miquel?" Zarashe chuckled over the walkie-talkie.

"I can see their hides filled with wounds and being beaten over and over again by this overwhelming power." Beta X sneered.

"Hmpf… So at least something interesting is gonna happen… It was about time…" Tom muttered.

"Campaign…" Felix merely announced.

"Ya mean a good brawl." Joanne laughed.

"I'd rather call it a vain struggle." Lily shrugged.

"Well. Boys will be boys." Bertha giggled.

"So true." Sandra added.

"Who'll go first? Wanna bet?" Zarashe suggested.

"Nothing over 100Z." Kage reminded them.

"71 on Colonel." Tom directly made his bet.

"53 on Search Man." Beta X staked.

"68 on Blues." Lily announced her game.

"84 on Blues." Sandra staked.

"Well. It'd be unfair if I didn't bet too so 45 on Search Man." Andy shrugged his shoulders.

"And I'd say 92 on Blues." Akemi finished.

"So! 3 of you believe Blues will go first, 2 believe on Search Man and 1 in Colonel… Well! That's to be seen: it's up to Boss." Kage concluded with a broad grin.

"Luck is at stake…" Felix drily warned.

"I'd rather say luck's on our side." Joanne laughed.

"Guess so." Zarashe shrugged.

"Who knows?" Bertha teased.

"Nobody does." Suzuki improvised.

"Except for Uncle Moran?" Zarashe joked.

There was a prolonged silence and Zarashe seemingly gulped because his joke hadn't had the desired effect: Kage merely formed a smug smile.

_Heh! You'll be the first! Ijuuin Enzan! Let's see what stuff you're made of!_


	12. Chapter 12: Ryuusei Form

**Chapter 12: Ryuusei Form**

17:57 PM (Japan Time), (Japan Time), Saturday March the 3rd…

"… Alright, Boss. Are we gonna do it or not? I don't want to make it look like we were all bluffing."

"Don't worry, Miquel – kun… Legato! Bring out the R – Program."

"Roger, sir."

"Heh, heh, heh… Finally!"

Kage was speaking with the enigmatic _Noir_ inside of his office and _Noir_ calmly nodded in agreement before inputting some commands into his laptop atop the desk and bring up a display of Legato next to a safe built within the Cyber World: he momentarily kneeled and then stood up to start working on opening the safe while Andy chuckled.

"Here it is."

Legato handed Andy a spheroid colored black and red which shone with overflowing energy: Andy held it on his hands and lifted it to stare at it while his eyes displayed eagerness.

"With this… Golden Star's power will rise… And they shall realize their foolishness… No – one but us will decide what to do with this power: let them cower in fear ahead of a power they don't control but they won't be able to impose their control over us …" He muttered as an eager smile formed across his face.

"True." Legato grinned.

"Install! R – Program!"

Andy let go of the spheroid and it hovered down before shooting into his chest emblem: black and red patterns of energy traveled across his body and skin thus forming an "aura" colored both black and red: Andy roared and seemed to be feeling the effects of the program: none of them noticed Akemi looking on from the room's door keyhole.

_What is going on? Just what is that program…? What power…!_

18:18 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Alright. I got an email from Torolov telling me to come here and we'd talk about that of the morning and the place's empty. The abandoned video club where I battled Hikari for the first time of all places… How curious…"

"Truly, Enzan – sama."

"… Huff, huff… Heh… Heh, heh… Heh, heh, heh… So… You came… Ijuuin Enzan! Blues! I've been waiting for this day…!"

"Who goes there? You ain't Torolov."

"Heh… Huff, huff… Man… Use your brain, Holmes. Uncle Moran came to say hi, ya know?"

"What in the… Kage Miquel!"

"Same man… Huff, huff…"

Enzan made it to the abandoned locale which was largely unlit and then heard a voice: he recognized it and aimed his PET's flashlight at Kage who was having trouble standing and was leaning his right arm against the far wall to have a point of support: he had a weird smile on his face and his voice sounded forced.

"Enzan – sama: the enemy's in "Full Synchro" yet it seems that it's taking a toll on their physical strength… And I can feel a power signature off the charts inside of the computers as well… It must be Andy, sir."

"What. Legato had you spar with him for 3 consecutive hours or what? I don't believe a man like you would tire so easily." Enzan taunted while trying to look confident.

"Heh… And you guys think we hadn't noticed that Suzuki – san leaked info to the KCK? We let her be 'cause it was beneficial to us… And the bomb stunt was lame… Whatever… You're about to see… our power… our new power, our secret weapon… Which you won't be able to stand up to and you won't be able to control by force and threat… like you did in the past to him…" He made a weak chuckle.

"Whatever! Plug In! Blues, Transmission!"

Blues entered the Cyber World and found it to be largely unlit save for a dot deeper inside where all energy seemed to be gathering at: reddish/blackish flashes of light came out from there and the air felt distorted somehow: Blues rushed on forward and spotted what seemed to be a cocoon hovering five centimeters over the ground and being about two meters tall: all energy was spiraling around it and it was the only source of light in the Cyber World.

"What power! It's totally off the scale… I hadn't felt anything like it ever since I met Slur…" Blues muttered.

"… You came… Oppressor… Tyrant…" Andy's icy voice rang out from inside of the cocoon.

"Oppressor? Tyrant? Me?" He grumbled.

"Hurra~h! Prepare to witness… GOLDEN STAR'S NEW WEAPON!" He roared.

The cocoon suddenly exploded and released all energy thus making the Cyber World light up yet the shockwave sent Blues flying backwards for about ten meters before hitting the ground, hard: he panted and tried to stand up.

"Whack! If coming out of the cocoon was that powerful then I can't imagine anything else more powerful than it…!"

"Then feel it, accomplice of tyrants!"

"W-what's THAT?"

Andy had gained a new form which had an "advanced" look to it yet it also looked terrifying.

The helmet's design was rather peculiar because it wasn't a full helmet to begin with: the sides of it had two gray metallic shapes the form of which was slightly reminiscent of the Alphabet "L" character: a fluorescent green incision had been cut in the part adjacent to the face while the larger segments had a yellow-colored incision cut into it.

The segment covering the head was built using a blackish material and could be divided in four sections: the centermost, built like a triangle aiming south and which also covered the forehead: it ended slightly over the start of the nose.

The western and eastern sections of the head's protection had been shaped after diamonds aiming NW and NE plus having green fluorescent material running down the sides to join with the "L" shapes.

The rearmost piece was a mere curved segment connecting the lateral pieces: a gray metallic triangle was drawn on the middle of the head from where a black-colored fin emerged: the fluorescent green line divided it into two unequal portions: front and rear, and the rear one was painted using gray metallic coloring.

Andy's hair came out of behind the helmet given how it was a "partial protection" model: red thick shades covered the eyes and nose plus a small grayish metallic piece of armor was built to protect his chin and lower jaw: the skin over his neck was black in color.

Andy's eyes, visible under the transparent red shades, displayed a total lack of emotion and they surprisingly had switched to a mix of red and blue as if to display his current "Full Synchro" status.

The chest area had a metallic spheroid protruding out of it and a green-colored incision had been cut on the middle of it: the upper front half was colored in a white-like color while the rear upper half was black: however, the whole lower half had chosen gray as color to be used: the piece of armor below it and connecting to the rest of the body shared the same color.

The armor's colors were combined in the rest of the body below the chest segment: the flanks of the body had grey armor with green fluorescent edges while the central part of the body was tinted in pitch blackish coloring.

Regarding his arms' design, a black piece of armor covered the shoulders which were encompassed by metallic spheroids: these spheroids were not "complete" spheroids.

That was because they had a cavity from where the arms emerged: a thin fluorescent green circular line was placed close to the upper edge where the armor was colored in black color and formed a dome with a hole at the topmost part of each spheroid: the inner edge of each spheroid was painted using a yellow palette of coloring: these spheroids also had an indentation signaling the separation between each half.

His arms' skin was black in coloring while the armor built over his wrists was painted using two colors: black for the upper half and gray for the lower half: a small thin piece of armor emerging from the upper half and shaped like the Alphabet "L" character turned 90º to the right was also present there: the hands' skin was also colored using black coloring.

The legs' armor, however, included two shapes which were a pair of combined cones (fused and aiming up and down) colored metallic gray and set within a green cavity extending from the hips to past the knees.

The colors then split as the outer edge of each leg was colored in gray armor while the inner edge were colored black: a green fluorescent line marked the division between them: the lines then drew another cavity which included gray metallic armor plating inside of it.

The feet armor was split in rear and front halves respectively colored black and metallic gray: a fin formed on the front half and it had a green fluorescent line crossing it on its front.

Two discs having an external black edge, an inner thin yellowish edge and a red dome built on the core were set on the upper ends of the shoulder-mounted-pieces: yellowish energy emanated from them and made them look powerful and imposing.

Lastly, two extensions came out from behind the body which happened to be black-colored frames supporting reddish wings which were made of energy flowing from the shorter starting section to the larger outwards section.

"Ryuusei Form!" He announced.

"Ryuusei Form!" Both Enzan and Blues gasped.

"Huff, huff… Now ya see why it takes me so much effort to remain in "Full Synchro" with Andy… This power is the reason!"

"… Get ready! Black End… Galaxy!"

Andy lifted his hands and formed a small spheroid of blackish energy which he then dropped behind Blues: it suddenly grew into a large black hole which began to suck everything around it: Andy drew a reddish blade on his right forearm and boosted on forward cutting the air where Blues was at and opening a large wound on his upper chest: Andy flew past the black hole which suddenly collapsed and the shockwave originating from its implosion sent Blues flying across the area again: he hit the ground and groaned as he somehow managed to stand on his fours.

"Meteor Light Barrage!"

Andy jumped into the air and hovered to then shoot some spheroids of light which bombarded the ground around Blues and further weakened him thus making him collapse.

"I-impossible… His HP numbers have hit the 1 HP mark already?"

"Huff, huff… This wouldn't have happened… if you'd acted wisely back then…" Kage told him.

"Back then? Define "back then"!" Enzan growled.

"Gospel! The Saito Style! You Cyber CID repressed it: saw it as a mere weapon! Didn't you? Say it!" Andy exclaimed.

"W-what? I didn't! I wasn't the one who triggered it! I just wanted to see what kind of power it was!" Enzan argued back.

"Bah! That's all the time we can spend with you: we've got another two fools to deal with today. Let's go, Miquel – kun!"

"Roger. Say good-night, Ijuuin."

"What!"

Kage drew his Beretta M92F converted and shot a tranquilizer dart at Enzan's right shoulder: he collapsed and Kage grinned…

18:29 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Laika – sama, sir… A mail from Superintendent Oda… It's a re-mailing of a mail by Suzuki Martha."

"Oh! News already? Good! Open it up!"

"Roger, sir."

Laika had been working on what appeared to be a draft report before Search Man called for his attention: Laika looked up and seemed to be animated.

"… "I spotted Andy installing a new weapon which had been rumored to have been in VR testing until now but it's going to go for field testing. I dunno where he went off to but the mere installation triggered a power signature which was felt across the whole building. I've got a bad feeling about this. Please be careful!" … Huh. A new weapon and from the description then it's something terrific."

"So terrific that you want to oppress it and use it for your own profit, don't you, repulsive foreign soldier?" An angry voice rang out from the Cyber World all of a sudden.

"What!"

All lights suddenly went out save for the glowing of the emergency lights and that of the PET's own holographic screen which displayed Search Man shining in the middle of a pitch-blackened space: the red and black glow began to form and Search Man tried to lock on the cocoon yet he seemed to be unable to.

"My software doesn't recognize it as a valid target!"

"That's gotta be Andy: he came to test it out on us!"

"You bunch of fools! Speaking of pride and all and then falling for the enemy's trap! What good is having scanning abilities if you can't tell black apart from white? You threatened to destroy a civilian system on which citizens were dependant on! All to test out if you were correct or not: isn't there something called ANALYSIS to begin with? Huh?"

"The incident with Rock Man DS…" Search Man recalled.

"Guess he's got it personal with us given how this guy is Hikari's number one fan…" Laika muttered.

"Fan? Hah! No! I am Rock Man's sword! He's still too _naïve_ to admit that but I've become his sword! His sword to slay ghosts of the past! His glorious sword!" He exclaimed.

"Did he tell you to?" Search Man questioned.

"Tell me to? No. I know he'd disagree with me on that. But it matters not because I'm going to prove how far Golden Star's power can reach when we want it to!" Andy shot back.

"Coming…!" Search Man made a grimace.

"Red Gaia… Eraser!"

Andy came out of the cocoon: the disks hovering inches from the shoulders flew into the air and then assumed inclined positions aiming diagonally towards Search Man: they produced continuous streams of reddish energy which travelled across the ground drawing the Alphabet "X" character: before Search Man could recover from this attack Andy formed a red beam which he shot straight at him: a gigantic dome-shaped explosion spread on the spot and wrecked a large part of the floor just as lighting began to return to show a crater easily ten meters wide and three deep: Search Man was struggling to shake the debris off him when Andy suddenly hovered over him and looked down (literally) at him with eyes which denoted a total lack of interest.

_Damn. I've seen that kind of glare before… The glare of a trained killer who blanks its mind before the killing…!_

"_The end_. Elemental Cyclone!"

Thousands of greenish leaves began to spin around a column of winds and gave way to a cyclone which travelled down into the hole and hit Search Man several times in a row before it stopped.

"And now for the last sinner… The greatest of all sinners!"

18:46 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Alright. What's going in here? I got summoned here by Blues who said there was something very important going on but instead I find this blacked out Cyber World. Hmmm? What's that light? Barrel. I'm going to check it out."

"Go ahead."

Colonel came into a Cyber World somewhere only to find the creepy blackout phenomenon and the creepy glow from deeper inside: he walked towards the cocoon and stopped while drawing his sword: the cocoon's glow and pulsations began to increase.

"Sinner! I've come to make punishment descend into you! The likes of you shall regret holding a comrade hostage against their will and trying to use them as mere bait! You wanted to use them: like the Sharo mob intended to do as well! I am the sword! I deliver punishment! You shall be rendered powerless by this strength… The strength of Golden Star!" Andy's voice boomed out.

"What! Golden Star, they say!"

The cocoon exploded and Andy came out in his transformed state while roaring: his cry of anger sounded like it was something it'd been held back for a long time and his eyes sparkled with hatred.

"All preparations are useless! Meet one of the Ultimate Powers walking across this land: the power bestowed to me by Golden Star and the grand Slur – sama! Her Grace designed this power for me to use yet it is not mine: it is Golden Stars' power!" He announced.

"What in the…" Colonel gasped.

"Thunderbolt Blade~!"

Andy drew a sword the blade of which was shaped like a thunderbolt and hit Colonel with it three times in a row by swinging right and left: he then hit the floor with it and a thunderbolt rained down from the sky thus landing on Colonel and electrocuting him.

"Not yet. Atomic… Blazer!"

Andy accumulated energy and shot a gigantic stream of flames at Colonel thus leaving large burnt marks on him: Andy didn't look like he was going to stop there, though.

"Feel it! Feel the wrath I deliver! Such is my new purpose in life: I've become an avenging sword! Too many have suffered because of your petty games: it's time that you realized their pain! Dynamic Wave: drown in your own arrogance and foolishness!"

Andy spun upon his axis and formed four large tidal waves which kicked Colonel away and he collapsed from the attained damage: Andy calmly landed back on the ground and lowered his head while making a quiet giggle-like sound: he suddenly broke into laughter and lifted his head to display how he was apparently rejoiced with the outcome.

"We did it, Miquel – kun! We did it! Thanks to the power of Golden Star we have killed the ghosts of the past! Our comrade can now be free of that unnecessary torment!" He laughed.

"… Y-yeah… Huff, huff… Let's go back… Today was a long day and you're not easy to sync with in this state… We gotta tell Boss and hand over the battle data… That doesn't change anything: we're still Golden Star guys and will keep being…" Kage replied between pants.

"Sorry. I kind of forgot."

"Don't worry… Let's go…"

"Just what do you want?" Barrel suddenly questioned.

"Me or Golden Star? There's a big difference. When it comes to me I've already done what I wanted to do. And when it comes to Golden Star we're going to bring stability. Farewell!"

"Che. They pulled out… Colonel! Return!"

"R-roger, Barrel… Ugh!"

"Just what was that power…? Where'd it come from…?"

19:03 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Y-yo… Boss… We're back… Huff!"

"Whoa! Miquel – kun! Are you alright? Breathe, breathe! Slowly, relax, should I call for a medic?"

"N-no… I'm fine… But… the calculations on the stress… it means for the Operator were… too low."

"I'm so sorry: but that couldn't be totally calculated because there are too many factors which vary from Navi to Navi and from person to person to begin with…"

"Are you alright, Andy – kun?"

"… Somehow… There were moments when I felt weird like I wasn't myself to begin with… The program must've brought up repressed instincts of mine…"

Kage made it back to the office and actually collapsed into the chair making _Noir_ rushed over to him and placed both gloved hands on the shoulders: Kage shrugged it off as he took out the sunglasses to reveal blue irises: he pocketed them while Andy's life-sized hologram was being tended by Legato.

"But we did it in the end… We became swords to slay the ghosts of the past and in the process we proved how might Slur – sama's power is and how she will not allow for a fair hero who Serenade believed into to be tormented by ghosts of the past… Serenade would've agreed with us: it was just a demonstration with no intent to delete…"

"You've done splendidly. Go home and rest. We'll have busy days ahead of us before "it" can be completed…" _Noir_ seemed to smile.

"Heh, heh, heh… It was fun… But I wouldn't dare to do it too often. With this… Golden Star's goal will be… achieved." Andy grinned.

"True… Glory to Golden Star!" Legato rallied.

"Glory to Golden Star!"


	13. Chapter 13: Holmes wannabe

**Chapter 13: Holmes wannabe**

10:20 AM (Japan Time), Sunday March the 4th…

"… Alright, Hikari. Just _what_ did you tell Kage?"

"About what?"

"About your "adventures" and all."

"The basic outline: that's all."

"Just the basic outline?"

"Come on! I'm sure he could've researched it but he knew better not to bring up something I wanted to bury."

"Ijuuin – kun. Don't be so hostile. It's not like he's to blame."

"Ah… I am sorry, sir."

Enzan was discussing with Netto in a Science Labs meeting in which Obihiro, Laika, Oda and Yuuichirou were also taking part: Enzan had started in an aggressive manner to Netto's rising annoyance until Yuuichirou cut him.

"Papa! Will you tell me what's going on? Am I guilty of something and this is a court of inquiry or what?" Netto exasperatedly asked.

"They're somewhat stressed: these last two days have been stressing but yesterday evening was brutal. You see… Andy showed up to challenge Blues, Search Man and Colonel in a row using a new weapon developed by Golden Star…" Yuuichirou began.

"A new weapon?" Netto looked nervous.

"A new transformation… Ryuusei Form. Its power is terrific: it begins by robbing all electricity from the Cyber World Andy is in to form a cocoon immune to targeting systems. It then explodes and Andy comes out transformed wielding such power than the three of us fell before it in less than 55 seconds without having a chance to strike back at him. This form also brings a lot of stress to Kage's body and tires him out quickly."

"By all the…" Rock Man gasped.

"I don't want to feel that twice." Blues grimly muttered.

"Same for me…" Search Man admitted.

"B-but how they could make such a weapon or program?" Netto asked while looking bewildered.

"No big mystery: Slur helped create it. Yet the reason we called you over was because Andy claimed to be a sword delivering vengeance and killing ghosts of the past… You guys' past." Laika let out.

"So that's why you asked what I'd told him? But he wasn't the kind of person to go to such ends! He was a nice guy and I'm sure everyone who'd met him the last course would agree with me." Netto argued back.

"Don't you think that he changed after his runaway from Chicago in the summer?" Rock Man suggested.

"Speaking of which… His so-famous uncle has gone off the radar and into unknown whereabouts. No – one seems to know where he is or where he's gone to. But there is a search request for Kage and Andy and a reward is offered. We tried contacting the number but we got routed to the local police who said they didn't have time for crazy stories: if there was no register of Kage coming out of the country then he was still there and end of the tale. Very blunt, really." Laika exposed.

"Maybe the uncle thought Miquel had leaked something regarding his conspiracies and all and thus fled to save his hide?" Netto suggested while looking concerned.

"Could be, too." Laika admitted.

"Alright, Hikari. Do you have any grudges with any of us regarding what happened with your "powers" time ago? Did you tell that to Kage or is he imaging things?" Enzan asked.

"He's gotta be over-reacting. I never said anything about a grudge and I've buried all of that. I'm more concerned about my marks, homework, exams and all: I've got no time to day-dream anymore."

"Alright. Then Kage is over-reacting: the guy must've researched deeper into you and maybe got the idea that you'd been bullied or punished for having that power instead of using it for others' sake."

"Which we did." Netto reminded him.

"Of course: no – one questions that."

"Well, I guess we should be saying "sorry" for that of Rock Man DS back then because it was a gross mistake. The guy brought it up reminding us that Search Man is designed for analyzing to begin with and there's a huge difference between black and white." Laika admitted.

"Oh. Alright. But don't mind it: as I said before, that whole stuff is as good as buried. Dead. The present is what matters: there's no time to mourn the past." Netto shrugged.

"Yup. It was a trap: no – one's perfect. We all fall into them from time to time after all, don't we?" Rock Man shrugged as well.

"Alright. Matter settled." Laika concluded.

"So… What else do we know about Golden Star?"

"Pharaoh Man, Cosmo Man and Dark Man are there." Enzan calmly listed out as if waiting to see his reaction.

"WHAT?" Netto actually stood up and leant on the table's edge.

"But they were deleted!" Rock Man argued.

"Who said it was impossible to rebuild a Navi?"

"Oh true! Dark Man and the others did that with Forte!"

"But it'd seem these re-buildings are prepared with reset memory files so they don't know anything of what they did before. To them is like they'd always worked for Golden Star." Enzan added.

"Oh… I see… Man! What a fright! I've got no problem with Pharaoh Man but Cosmo Man merged with "Nebula Grey" still creeps me out from time to time… And Dark Man was no joke either."

"How did you know that? Do you know anything about the three incidents which rang out yesterday?" Rock Man asked.

"We secured the cooperation of a member who is already reporting to the KCK: we get a copy of the reports. And the incidents were caused by Golden Star as part of a complicated strategy to rescue one of their members which we'd caught from the Akihara Central Hospital. Superintendent Oda: do you think he can be allowed to read the report we compiled?" Enzan summed up before asking Oda.

"I see no problem: but remember that it's classified so you can't tell your friends or else I'd get into trouble." Oda warned.

"A-alright…"

"… Enzan – sama, mail, sir… The informer, sir…"

"Oh! What do they say?"

"Golden Star gained a new Operator & Navi duo who will be working for Hades… Joel and Victor… Attached photos…"

Everyone looked at the photos: Joel was a young man who appealed to be close to 20 years of age and around the meter and eighty tall spot.

His hair's color was a bright brown one and it was rather messy and forming flocks there and there while a pair of reading glasses hid his eyes: he had a creepy smile across his face.

His choice of clothing happened to be a white shirt with a collar having four buttons on it plus a teal brown coat over it which was open in the middle: he finished the set with a pair of grayish wool pants and simplistic brown shoes.

"He's somewhat out-fashioned, ain't he?" Enzan sarcastically commented as if to shatter the ice.

"Uncle Merton's fashion I'd bet." Oda laughed.

"Oh come on." Obihiro moaned.

"What about the Navi?"

"Yes, sir. Switching photos… Here it is, sir."

Victor was a Navi with a rather curious design appealing to be around his Operator's height.

To begin with, his helmet's surface was covered in a grid of brown tiles separated by black lines and columns: a bright yellowish jewel had been set on the center of the forehead: the ear-pads had his initial, the Alphabet "V" letter colored golden, drawn over them.

Blue transparent shades were installed over his eyes the irises of which were brown: his face had a smooth look to it and could even be considered attractive as seen from the sides.

His main body had that same pattern printed over it and his chest emblem's edge was colored red, green and blue in different percentages while the golden "V" was set against a white background.

His shoulders had eight-pointed stars drawn over them colored red, green and blue at random while his arms also had the grid pattern printed over their skin: the forearms were colored navy blue with dusty brown bands circling around their length.

The legs kept on using the grid pattern over it and the boots happened to have the Alphabet initials "RGB" with each letter printed on their corresponding color, set over them.

Overall he looked like a combination of the three basic colors and a brown grid: his expression denoted amusement.

"That brown grid… It remembers me of something." Laika admitted while looking thoughtful.

"Oh, I see. Sherlock Holmes' tweet coat…" Yuuichirou realized.

"No wonder. If this guy is supposed to be a detective on his own then he put a reference to Holmes in his Navi's design." Enzan muttered.

"Cool…" Netto whistled in surprise.

"So these guys will surely do investigations elsewhere…"

"As long as they don't have new weapons then it shouldn't be a problem to stand up to them…" Blues muttered.

"Speaking of secrets… Did you figure out who are the big fishes in the gang or not?" Netto asked.

"We know their aliases but that doesn't help much because both of them have the mania of hiding their faces."

"Hum. Like a spy movie…" Netto trailed off.

"I know. They're not going to make it easy."

"Don't you think the insider would be in danger if they were found out by them…?" Rock Man asked.

"No. They've known for a while but they seem to find the deal beneficial to them to begin with."

"How curious… Hmmm… Suzuki Martha – san, DNN staff… Net Navi: Akemi… What! They organized the three incidents just to flood the hospital with patients and sneak in bombs? Ah! But the bombs were meant to be deactivated yet their tracer gave away her room when you all gathered because you thought they'd rescued her given a video transmitted over the TV…" Netto muttered as he flipped through the report and was surprised.

"Yeah. They can get pretty subtle when they want to. But we guess that Andy's had enough with beating us and won't come for more yet new info suggests there's something secret being prepared which should be ready by May or June."

"That's about two to three months from now…" Netto looked up while looking slightly nervous.

"I know. But we've got no hints of what it is or the scale of it. That's all and we're sorry for the earlier harsh behavior: you're not to blame for anything to begin with."

"A-alright… Well… I'm going back: I've gotta finish a report so we'll see you around… Bye."

"Good-bye."

"Later."

"And beware of Uncle Moran's icy candies! Mwah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, ha~h!"

Oda suddenly broke into hysterical laugh and began to bang the desk as if wanting to discharge his humor: everyone rolled their eyes and came out leaving Oda to laugh alone.

"That man…!" Laika grumbled.

"…has no cure!" Search Man finished.

"Totally." Enzan settled.

"Jeez." Obihiro complained.

"By all the…" Blues cursed.

"This is madness." Yuuichirou groaned.

"Sure thing…" Netto sighed as well.

"He's gonna drive us crazy." Rock Man added.

"… Yo! Banga – kun! Let me tell you something: you'll find that your coffee cup will be replaced by mere water and a wizard will be to blame for the switch!" Oda told someone.

"How unrealistic, sir." The man named Banga replied.

"Maybe you need a Vesper Cocktail?"

"No, sir. I do not like cocktails, sir."

"Or should we say a few rounds of Martini?"

"No, sir. I never drink alcohol, sir."

"Anti – Alcohol Man: is that your alter ego, Banga – kun?" He suggested next.

"No, sir. I'm busy, sir, and I don't have time for randomness!"

11:24 AM (Japan Time)…

"… So! Cha are the newbie."

"Indeed, Joanne – san. I have been briefed. Joel. Do tell me if you need to me to research into someone."

"Alright! You're gonna find out if the bitch is plotting to kick me out by discrediting me!"

"Do excuse me?"

"Jeez. She means Bertha."

"Ah. Bertha – san, then… What should we do, Victor?"

"Well… I'd rather say we check it with Mr. President before making a move, shouldn't we, Joel – kun?"

"I don't need a bureaucrat: I need someone dynamic!"

"Ah? And who would that be, Joanne – san?"

"Yikes! _Ka – kaichou_!"

"Indeed."

Joel and Victor (using his life-sized hologram projecting out of a Link PET having the brown grid drawn over it) had been walking down a corridor when Joanne and Lily appeared in front of them: Joanne carried her PSG-1 sniper rifle with the safety on and aiming diagonally towards the ground while Lily had folded her arms: Joel greeted her in a formal manner and she suddenly began to speak ill of Bertha again: a voice joined the conversation and Joanne apparently felt a shiver go down her spine given her face.

"I would prefer if such rude language wasn't used here."

"M-my bad, _kaichou_…" She gulped.

"I am not punishing you, Joanne – san. I am making a suggestion. I know you and Miss Bertha are rivals to each other but that's no reason to degrade their social status in front of others."

"R-roger…" She gulped.

"See?" Lily rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on."

"By the way, Joel – kun…"

"Yes, sir? What should I do, sir?"

"I have a report which I'd like of you to complete: given your references then you should be able to get the information which we are in need of yet you mustn't rush either…" He told him.

"Do excuse me: it is not like I am declining, yet, don't you have a secretary who could help you out, sir…?"

"Oh. True. Yet I feel like I abuse of their good faith."

"Ah. If that is the reason then I shall be delighted to handle it."

"There's no rush, really. I don't mind if you take a whole month or more to work on it…"

"Roger, sir. I shall be going."

"O~i~! Wait a min! I'm late and I almost miss ya."

"Oh my. You're Kage Miquel – kun, right?"

"And Andy – kun as well…"

"Miquel! Where in the… world… were you?"

"Napping."

"NAPPING?"

Kage rushed down the corridor along with Andy and Joanne questioned him to what he replied in a rushed manner: Joanne looked bewildered at the reply.

"You see, the Ryuusei Program stuff demanded a lot of mental and physical effort from me and I ended up beaten. I slept like a log."

"Besides, since today is a Sunday… I'm Andy. Nice to meet you, Watson, my buddy." Andy made a joke.

"Heh, heh, heh. You noticed?" He grinned.

"Let's get along, _senpai_." Kage invited.

"Oh please. Let's drop the formalities."

"If you insist…"

"Well. When you're finished drop by my office and we'll have a little chat about that report stuff." Hades invited.

"Roger, sir."

"And please keep a check on your vocabulary, Joanne – san. It would no good for our image. I should remind you that you cannot physically fight Bertha – san. Is that understood?"

"Y-yeah, _kaichou_…" She gulped.

"Well then. Enjoy."

"… Alright, Miquel. Whom did you go out with? Hmmm? I'm sure there's a… woman… out there!" She glared at him.

"Maybe you're over-reacting? Do you want the field data on the Ryuusei Program and the data of my nanomachines plus brain implant to prove how I really got tired from the whole ordeal?" He asked.

"… Alright, alright… Yeah, I'm over-reacting… The nanomachines data and all that is read-only so ya can't change it…" She gulped.

"See?" Lily fumed.

Joanne merely grumbled and walked away at a brisk pace with Lily following her: Kage shrugged while Victor smiled.

"I learnt something: you must have a convincing alibi."

"Welcome onboard."

The four guys grinned and chuckled under their breaths…


	14. Chapter 14: 'Stuffed tube'

**Chapter 14: "Stuffed tube"**

17:56 PM (Japan Time), Thursday March the 8th…

"… Suzuki – san, Suzuki – san. Please reply: Tango speaking."

"Tango – dono. What are my instructions?"

"We need info on the disappearance of Hosoyoda. Any hints or rumors will do because it's obvious they won't let out the trick so boldly: it'd be like a stage magician giving away the trick for the show and ruining the grace of it…"

"Roger and acknowledged. Is it urgent?"

"Not really. Please take your time."

"Roger. Akemi, please prepare the protocol for encoded replies to reply once I get the information."

"O. K."

"Tango out."

Suzuki had been reading a book inside of a room having a bed, an adjacent bathroom, a desk and a pair of chairs (she was sitting in one of them) when a call rang out from her Link PET: she replied to it and closed the book after placing a marker on it.

"Let's see who we can find."

She came out into the corridor and found Zarashe dragging his feet across it and looking both depressed and tired: Beta X walked next to him and was rolling his eyes.

"Just what were you expecting, anyway?" Beta X asked him.

"Man. Last time I get seduced like that." He groaned.

"You should've seen it coming." Beta X told him.

"I know. I'm so idiotic, really. I wonder if I'm useful or I'm being a bother to Mr. President." He began to self-pity himself.

"You aren't, Zarashe – kun. Cheer it up. The world ain't gonna end just because of this, ya know."

"Eh… Zarashe – kun!"

"Huh? Huh… Suzuki – san… Please tell me: am I useful to Golden Star as a whole or I'm just here to be the fall guy?" He asked.

"No, I don't think so, Zarashe – kun. You just need to find something you're good at… Maybe busting eyesores?"

"Well… Why not… There are a lot of those in this district which need to be purged if we want to remain safe…" He muttered as he looked up and seemed to be getting animated.

"By the way: do you know what happened back then? In the Akihara City Hotel, I mean…"

"Oh, Hosoyoda? The guy's alive: don't worry."

"I didn't doubt it yet… How did you do it? You placed a retrievable focus which projected the beam of light and refracted it to hide Hosoyoda – dono so that he could sneak into the parking and you all ran off with the car or what?" She suggested.

"Oho. Good try, Suzuki – san, good try." He got cocky.

"Well. Big boy. Why don't you tell this little girl the trick?"

"Heh, heh, heh! Alright! We used the "Stuffed Tube"… I'm sure you've heard of it… Those things in the basement vault…"

"I know there's a basement vault but I've never seen what's inside because there are no cameras…" She trailed off.

"Well! I don't remember the proper name now or how it really works but the machine is supposed to be able to warp people from one point to the other by momentarily digitalizing them and then return them to normal as they travel over an encrypted fast lane established between two of the machines. The good part is that you can make them warp themselves into the spot so you don't need to carry them around."

"Sounds like magic."

"What was that quote again? "Any technology advanced enough cannot be told apart from magic"… Miquel used to say it from time to time and it really feels like it…" Zarashe smiled.

"The trick there was that we carried a special model inside of the cart and Zarashe - kun used it to warp Hosoyoda outta there: he then left in the confusion and we loaded the thing into the back seats of the car after securing it to run off top speed." Beta X grinned.

"Oh, I see. You guys win." She made an innocent smile.

"Good job, Martha, good job. Bravo."

"Oh? Bertha – san: what's up?"

"Yikes! Run for your hides!"

"O-oi! Wait for me!"

"HUH? What's wrong with those two, Sandra – san?"

"Tee, heh, heh. _A secret makes a woman_, _woman_."

Bertha and Sandra showed up all of a sudden and both Zarashe and Beta X ran for their hides to the surprise of both Suzuki and Akemi: Sandra smirked and quoted an English motto while Suzuki and Akemi kept on looking perplexed.

"Let us say I took control of the stuff." Bertha calmly replied as she flickered some of her hair backwards.

"… Ah. I see. No wonder they looked like that… Have you always been like that or you wanted to cool them down?" Suzuki caught up and merely beat an eyebrow.

"Bravo." She clapped.

"Are you… eh… making fun of me, Bertha – san?"

"Oh, my, my. Not at all. I just was glad to see that you caught my point to begin with, my dear." Bertha replied.

"So… What's the name of those machines?"

"Dimensional Converter. And I don't know all the intricate details about them just that it's not an original invention of Golden Star… It's an old project made real." She explained with a grin.

"One day we'll beat NASA to the moon too." Sandra grinned.

"No wonder." Akemi wasn't surprised.

"Tee, heh, heh. Well. We're going for a walk and don't worry: we can handle the grunts." Bertha smiled.

"Alright."

"_Ciao_."

Bertha walked down the corridor and Suzuki returned into her room to input some commands into the PET.

"Suzuki speaking. The name is "Dimensional Converter" and it actually allows for the digitalization of the person to transport them trough a secure band and reform them in another spot: two machines are needed at each end but they can be warped into there so they don't need to be carried around… It's an old project made reality."

"I see. I'm sure that the Science Labs must know something about that so we'll ask of them the details…" "Tango" muttered.

"Hosoyoda is very alive but they wouldn't let out anything regarding to where they sent him to. Zarashe – kun was the waiter in the Akihara City Hotel and the tray hid a device. Incidentally… There are some in the basement vault but I don't have access to it and I believe them to be too big and heavy to smuggle out." She reported next.

"Don't bother with that if you may. The Science Labs will provide the info we are in need of. Continue with…!"

An explosion rang out somewhere followed by a chuckle which originated in the Cyber World.

"Boom! I was bored. Let them see the power of the great me's bombs!"

"… You fool. What have you done?" An icy voice rang out.

"What, the bitch." The gruff voice fumed.

"What did you say?" The voice questioned with obvious annoyance.

"The bitch." He laughed.

"… Be deleted!" The voice roared.

"UWO~H!" The gruff voice's owner roared in agony.

"S-Slur – sama just deleted the rebuilt Bomber Man!" Akemi reported as she showed up again.

"Bomber Man, former WWW… Well. No wonder. The guy could've blown the whole place up." Suzuki muttered.

"If I recall well the decision was Mr. President's…"

"Yikes." Even "Tango" sounded afraid.

"Do excuse me, Slur – sama, but… What happened?" Legato's voice rang out through the line.

"Legato. Who revived that fool?" She icily questioned.

"Eh… Mr. President authorized the process, ma'am."

"What? Is that so?"

"I am afraid so, _mademoiselle_… I am to blame: we tried to see if they would be loyal of their own will because I felt like loyalty programs are something only tyrants would use and such…" Hades' voice joined the conversation.

"Ah. I see. An experiment?"

"Indeed. Yet it is a great failure." Hades admitted with a sigh.

"One does not always succeed: do not let this incident affect your decisions, President Hades."

"But a gentleman must take responsibility for his actions…"

"You are kind, true, yet sometimes one must look at things in a more dispassionate manner." Slur told him.

"Thank you, _mademoiselle_… I will think it twice next time around. By the way, speaking of former WWW Navis, I think you should keep an eye on the other, the one named…"

A tremor shook the building for a few seconds and Suzuki held into the desk (given how it was affixed to the wall) to hold in place: an echoing chuckle rang out.

"The signal! Today, my brethren… The revolution! Glory to the WWW, my brethren!"

"Shaddup, Stone Man!" Video Man hissed.

"Who cares about a defunct gang, anyway?" Burner Man was unimpressed.

"Shah, shah, shah! Someone deal with the guy!" Needle Man complained with his typical Yakuza dialect.

"You fool! We revive you and this is how you reward it?" Slur questioned with obvious anger.

"I don't need to take orders from a Super Woman wannabe. I'm gonna delete all of you and be the Ultimate WWW Net Navi!"

"Legato. Handle this one." Slur commander.

"Roger, ma'am!"

Akemi brought up the holographic screen to display Legato shooting at Stone Man to distract him while Slur held her right hand's index finger into the air to draw a red circle which expanded in diameter and thickness: the "void" between the outer edges and inner edges began to project reddish light which then gave way to a brutal explosion sweeping the terrain: the roar and concussion it brought along deafened Stone Man's cry of agony as he was annihilated.

"_My God_." "Tango" gasped in horror.

Where Stone Man had been now a five meter wide and five meter deep crater had formed: Slur hovered over the area looking totally uninterested at the panorama while Burner Man, Video Man and Needle Man were already kneeling as if to show that they were loyal: the display had obviously reminded them who they were dealing with.

"Glory to the Great and Almighty Slur – sama~!"

"Hmpf. That is better! You three are loyal: yet I will not tolerate any childish behavior." She told them.

"R-roger, ma'am!"

"Dismissed." She made a dismissing gesture with the right hand while forming an annoyed face.

"Y-yes, ma'am!"

The three of them ran away from the rocky slope and down it into another set of rocky slopes with some Warp Points set across the complex: the "skies" of the Cyber World were clouded and grayish as if to reflect the mood in the area: nobody dared to move or speak until Slur fumed and transformed into a column of yellowish energy shooting upwards towards a purple "portal" which formed in the air: it closed and everyone sighed in relief while the "skies" began to turn into the coloring of the sunset: Legato wiped some sweat off his helmet's forehead.

"_Mademoiselle_ went to cool off in the Reverse Internet, I guess. Let her be and I should reflect upon these failures. I'll scrap the project to bring back Elec Man and Fire Man then." Hades sighed.

"A-alright, President Hades." Legato muttered.

"Fua~h… What was that scandal? I was napping." _Noir_ asked over the line at that moment.

"Well… Bomber Man and Stone Man went berserk, sir, so Slur – sama had to make a demonstration of power by slicing Bomber Man in half with her sword and annihilating Stone Man on the spot… She's gone to cool off somewhere, sir…" Legato summed up.

"Lovely." _Noir_ grumbled.

"… What… power…" Felix muttered yet there was a hint of awe and fear behind his dryness.

"Damn. Now I see why she's the CO of us Navis. Say, could she stand up to the Ryuusei Program, even?" Tom asked.

"Obviously. She designed it yet during development we discussed a what-if scenario of an adversary using the program against us she could lock it up with an alphanumeric password or remove it altogether thus causing its self-destruction and releasing all destructive energy into the field with a range of up to 50 meters." Hades explained.

"50 meters!" Felix did gasp in fear this time.

"Holy…" Joanne uttered.

"But let's hope it doesn't come to happen." Hades tried to calm them down.

"Y-yeah… Let's hope…" Zarashe added.

"We should be careful or we'll end up turning a power boost into a new MDW…" Bertha warned.

"Too true." Hades sighed.

"Hey! Now that I think 'bout it, where's Miquel at? You're not gonna tell me he's napping again." Joanne asked.

"No. He's studying for his online courses." _Noir_ replied.

"Alright. As long as there's no one else involved…"

"Do you want proof?" _Noir_ offered.

"Heck. I always forget about the nanomachines and chip implant proofs to begin with. Eh… No, Boss, I'll take back what I said."

"That's a wise move." Lily muttered in the background.

"I heard that, cha!" Joanne complained.

"So what?"

"… Nothing."

"A-alright, Suzuki – san… Please continue just like that and we'll handle the rest… G-good luck…" "Tango" nervously muttered.

"Acknowledged. Out."

"Please let us return to what we were doing before if we want to shake off this depressed mood in the air, ladies and gentlemen." Hades politely suggested to everyone.

"A-alright."

"W-well, I'm gonna continue my play-through of _Halo 3: ODST_. This game is so thrilling, man." Zarashe tried to sound confident.

All radio channels shut down and Suzuki picked a magazine which she agitated in the air to try to shake the heat off the air: she then picked a navy blue cloak and came out into the corridor to then pick the stairs into the ground floor and came out of the building: she put on a pair of IR goggles to check the environment but found nothing.

"I need some air to cool down too."

"No wonder." Akemi calmly muttered.

"… I just got the strangest feeling. That those "Dimensional Converters" are there for something else than just warp people around… Maybe that's because they have another function which is being kept secret from most of us?" She wondered.

"Could be… It ain't crazy."

"Hmmm?"

Suzuki suddenly looked towards the unlit ocean and thought she could see a large shape slowly moving towards the center of the harbor before it vanished altogether yet the shape was rather large and tall: she closed her eyes and nodded her head as if to shake off the sensation yet she looked troubled at the vision.

_This part of the harbor is barely used because all cargo ships and so dock at 1 kilometer from here… So what was that mole? It can't be a cargo ship and it isn't an optical illusion either… Oh wait. Maybe the JDSF Navy is actually testing out some new kind of warship here because it's a secluded area yet it ain't too shallow?_

"… Is something wrong, Martha - chan?"

Suzuki put on the IR goggles but there was nothing in the waters which were slightly cold but not too cold given their slightly greenish coloring through the IR goggles: she seemed to frown under the IR goggles and then took them off.

"I thought I saw a warship or something but I can't spot it via the IR goggles unless it was a submarine and submerged yet it should've left some trail, I'd say." She admitted.

"Maybe it's a new model." Akemi shrugged.

"Guess so. Maybe submarines don't leave a heat signature in the water unlike off-board engine boats." She settled.

"Will we ever figure out the "truths" behind the veils or it'll remain clouded?" Akemi sighed.

"It's too early to tell. We mustn't falter."

"That's easy to say, yeah, but you never know."

"That's it. You never know. We can't predict anything like we couldn't predict those two Navis' behaviors."

"And to think we actually have such powerful weapons with us… Were this to be leaked to some army we'd get assaulted by all of them trying to get their hands on it as well as terrorists…" Akemi shivered.

"Yeah… That's why we must make sure this information is kept as secret as possible… Or else the balance will crumble."

Both girls fell silent as the wind began to blow across the area: Golden Star held too many dangerous tools and secrets…


	15. Chapter 15: Cross Fusion

**Chapter 15: Cross Fusion**

18:28 PM (Japan Time), Saturday March the 10th…

"… So, Mr. President… I assume there is a reason why you have summoned us here in secret, sir?"

"Indeed, Joel – kun. I am about to show you a technology which few have witnessed before. And it is one of our pillars too."

"Intriguing."

"Isn't it? That's why he picked this building which is an annex to a former medical laboratory: it's discreet and since the power supply was already designed for high-voltage-consuming machines then it doesn't call the attention."

"And it's behind those doors."

"Before that… Do you know about "Full Synchro"?"

"I do, sir. I've done it once or twice and it was exhilarating to find one's self in the Cyber World."

"Good. What we have sought to do is to allow Navis to come out of the Cyber World and into the real world. Which they did during the incident organized by the "Four Dark Heavenly Kings" in which the "Dark Power" permitted such a phenomenon… We want to recreate it but this time limit the space where this can actually happen…"

"A contention field…?"

"It can be called like that, yes, as its other purpose but the main one is to provide an area where data can materialize. Ah. Here we are."

Hades, Joel and Victor's life-sized hologram had been walking down a metallic corridor light by fluorescent lights somewhere and talking before coming to a halt in front of a set of two armored doors controlled by a panel to their right: Hades took off his right hand's glove and pressed his palm against a scanner: it scanned and then emitted a soft PING sound as the doors unlocked.

"Welcome to our humble lab."

"Hum! Intriguing, by Steve."

"Fascinating, by Gruner."

The "lab" contained just one machine: it basically was a square box made of glass panels and steel frames with a width of about two meters per each side and a height of about two meters as well: four devices which were blue cylinders with circuitry boards placed inside of them and surrounded by bluish glass coupled with two white caps at the end had been set vertically and in a cluster atop the box with four wires travelling across the height of the box until they reached a small box from where eight wires emerged: four headed into a power supply system built into the far north wall and the other four led to a complex control panel placed three meters in front of the southern end of the box: the room had a side door as well plus fluorescent tubes in the ceiling: the secretary was working with a computer and apparently calibrating it.

"These tubes are named "Dimensional Converters" and are something which Hikari Tadashi – hakase, the architect of the Network, envisioned and elaborated upon back on his times yet the technology was still too bulky and primitive to allow for development: he and Dr. Wily quit the project which was the last one they tackled together before Wily was tempted by evil and began to create the WWW."

"So, these devices generate the "area" we were speaking of, President Hades, sir?" Victor asked.

"Yes. We name it "Dimensional Area", a dome built of countless hexagons and occupying as much as a whole block of streets. Once inside it's hard for the outside forces to come in and even harder for the forces on the inside to come out: the energy repels anything and simple contact with it can knock out someone for a while. Given how it's already made of energy it's immune to Navi attacks which just bounce back at the ground and the source. All environment feeling and colorings get altered as well. It's a hybrid space which is half Cyber World and half real world. Thus it can trap a materialized Navi but it also can allow for something else."

"What would that be?"

"We spoke of "Full Synchro", didn't we? The Operator's mindset "fuses" with the Navi and they essentially become one. Well. This is a similar concept in which the Navi _uses the Operator's body to materialize_. In short: _the Operator gains a Navi's form and abilities_. They must also be synchronized although 90% is a good standard value."

"Whoa! So Joel – kun would get my bodysuit over his clothes and be able to fight like he was me?" Victor whistled in admiration.

"Correct. There'd be some slight aesthetical changes and all of your senses would be fed by Joel – kun's own senses: you wouldn't have a "face" to begin with but would see through him. This process involves the digitalization of the PET as well. And the device to trigger it is this Chip made of a rare metal… Have a look, gentlemen."

Hades picked a unique Chip which differentiated from a Battle Chip because it had no label and instead had an emerald dome made of some slightly transparent material similar to glass in the center of it surrounded by a black edge: the Golden Star logo had been set at a small scale SE of the dome and the contacts were different: the feeling of it was something else as well.

"Synchro Chip." Hades announced.

"Synchro… Synchronism… So this can trigger the process?"

"True. Yet you must be inside of a "Dimensional Area" to begin with and then you must be Synchronized to work in a simultaneous manner. Also, the "transformation" can be broken by hitting the chest emblem, the Operator suffering damage or the bickering between both parties. The removal of a "Dimensional Area" will mean that you're forced to return to your previous status as well." He explained.

"I see. It requires efficient team-work."

"Correct. The process takes a toll on the Operator's physical strength as well. Fitness and endurance are must too. It isn't easy but over time you can get used to the process. Ah. Here they come."

"Oh my. Kage – kun."

"And Andy – kun…"

Kage came into the room wearing a curious bodysuit of some sort colored olive green and filled with what seemed to be white square sensors over its surface: the bodysuit included a helmet and boots and covered all of his skin as well: he'd taken off his sunglasses too and revealed a calm and composed face: he carried the Link PET on his right hand and Andy's hologram walked next to him with a grin.

"Yo. Joel. Been a while." He grinned.

"Been a while, Victor – kun."

"Sure. What's with his outfit?"

"It's a sensor suit designed to transmit back bodily data and information about how his body reacts to the "transformation"… This is something which the nanomachines can't do so that's why we have to use this system…" _Noir_ explained as walked in followed by Legato's life-sized hologram.

"Good morning, Vice President _Noir_, sir."

"Good morning, Command Legato, sir."

"Hi there." Legato grinned.

"Do you mind giving me that? I'm gonna give you a demonstration of this gadget." Kage requested.

"Here you have."

"Alright. Pick your first row seat and watch." Kage grinned.

"We're gonna shine brighter than a lighthouse." Andy joked.

"I don't doubt it." Joel smiled.

"Go ahead." Victor rallied.

"Good luck." Hades told them.

Kage walked inside of the box and stood ready in the middle as the secretary interacted with the console and lifted four independent levers upwards: the "Dimensional Converters" hummed and energy began to travel across their circuitry boards: they began to shine as a mass of rainbow-colored energy formed inside of the box and encompassed its whole volume: the colors were constantly shifting.

"So that's a "Dimensional Area"…"

"This system produces an output fitting the box so that's why it doesn't look like hexagons. The actual one does produce that effect. Alright, Kage – kun. Honor our guests."

"Roger! Synchro Chip, Slot In! CROSS FUSION!"

Kage inserted the "Synchro Chip" and Andy's hologram vanished just as the PET turned into a small white sphere from which energy seams emerged and expanded: Kage expanded his legs and arms while closing his eyes as if letting instinct guide them.

"Cross Fusion, huh…" Joel grinned.

"Catchy."

"Do witness."

The light dimmed to reveal how Kage had indeed achieved a "fusion" with Andy.

This fusion, or, rather "Cross Fusion", had Andy's bodysuit over his normal clothes but with some design differences: the plating over his shoulders had a more pyramid-like form and was aiming towards the NW and NE, respectively.

The helmet's design was different as well: a silver-colored fin-shape piece formed at the sides, emerging from the ear pads' upper edge and extended until the end of the helmet: an arch was drawn over it and the space inside of it had a deeper tonality of silver.

A complicated drawing was imprinted within the forehead and the helmet's front now extended until the start of the nose

His hair now flowed out in a more natural manner from behind it.

A bronze-colored border formed around it and a straight line travelled towards the emblem to form a curve surrounding the lower half of it: the curve ended with a small 'spike' drawing pointing downwards.

His forearm design included a thin separation around the elbow: the two combined section formed a hexagon with a golden-colored jewel set on its center.

The short section set on the rear half of the elbow was colored bronze while the rest of the forearm was slightly brighter.

The bronze borders travelling down the sides of his upper body ended around the hips: two circular bands of a bronze color were drawn over them with a small separation between them.

His boots' design was based upon that of his forearms: the soil was painted black and separated from the rest of the foot by a thin bronze-colored line.

The jetpack design had changed a bit, too, and it now included bright silver pieces connecting the upper right and left edges with the body: a curved golden line was drawn half-way across it: the rest of the backpack looked identical to Andy's usual form.

"Magnificent!" Joel exclaimed.

"Cool." Victor whistled.

"So? Whaddya think?" Kage grinned under the face-mask.

"Aren't we cool?" Andy seemed to be grinning.

"So. What can you do, gentlemen?" Joel asked.

"This. Battle Chip, Long Sword! Hrah!"

The "fused" Kage drew a Long Sword and began to swing it at Mettools which formed inside of the space: he quickly drew his default buster gun and shot some other Mettools without too much effort: he quickly drew a Spread Gun and shot a Fire Dragon which tried to sneak on him too.

"Jet Vernier!"

Two small jets formed from the base of the backpack and he began to hover some centimeters over the ground to face a Garuu by shooting at it with a Vulcan Battle Chip: he then landed back on the ground and sighed as he stretched.

"Test completed." The secretary announced.

"Cross Out!"

Kage spread his arms as the "Cross Fusion" broke down into raw data which jumped into the air and reformed into the Link PET which he caught as it fell down: the "Dimensional Area" vanished and he grinned at the audience before coming out through the side door waving a hand: _Noir_ and Legato followed them inside and the door closed.

"You'll be able to apply for tests soon enough but if you're not the fighting type then you don't need to worry about it much. It's largely designed for fighting and is another component of our overwhelming technology which will make all dangers to society stability have fear of us." Hades explained with a smile.

"It is a noble thing. We are just using these as deterrent and unlike nuclear weapons there's no danger of these harming anyone." Joel smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Let us go back to the base, shall we?"

"Roger."

"_Mademoiselle_: do handle the shut-down of the system yet Vice President _Noir_ will lock everything up upon leaving." He asked of the secretary in a polite manner.

"Acknowledged." She drily replied.

"Good-bye, ma'am." Joel saluted.

"Let us meet again."

"Indeed."

18:49 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Alright. I'm ready. Kept ya waiting, eh, Boss?"

"Guess so."

"You didn't wanna have a sneak peek?"

"Come on, Miquel – kun. I'm supposed to be morally mature by now so I obviously can't do such a thing."

"Teasing ya~…"

"So, Legato… Did you hunt mice today?"

"I rather kicked a useless whelp around."

"Bubble Man?"

"Correct."

"Hah. They got it coming."

"Sure thing."

Kage came out of a small changing room having put on his usual clothing and having the sunglasses over his eyes: _Noir_ had been waiting while leaning backwards against the wall at the door's right and Kage began to joke with him but he didn't fall for it: Andy began to chat with Legato and guessed who he meant.

"That fucking guy… Selling our friend out… The worst possible kind of traitor ever, really…" Andy muttered.

"That's why I made sure they got their lesson."

"Anyone would be delighted to hit them after he tried to charge what, 1 million Z for information on the "Darkloids"…" Andy fumed.

"Yeah. Greedy and selfish: no wonder they live in a scrap heap with only that Aqua Man Navi remaining there with him… Anyway. Have you thought of how to handle Ijuuin's snooping and obsession regarding our organization?" Legato asked.

"Hmmm… Maybe we could tease with something scary?" Andy formed a creepy smile.

"Like what?"

"Say there's something terrific which we're working on but leave it as vague as possible: that'll be enough to keep him hooked and he won't think of anything else!" Andy suggested.

"Sounds terrific enough…"

"I've thought of something too to chill him out." _Noir_ sneered.

"And then let's let out some hints about the "strategy" so that Suzuki – san tells them and they get hooked. They'll see there's more to us than it meets the eye." Kage whispered.

"Excellent, my lads. Let's go back to the base and get everything ready and running. By the way, Miquel – kun… What should we do about the register of your old flat…?" _Noir_ asked of him.

"Hmmm… Leave as it is. There's nothing worthy there anymore since I moved but they won't find my current address because I picked another name to register…" He shrugged.

"O. K."

"Do excuse me: I am heading back. Please make sure to lock everything before departing." The secretary warned as she knocked into the door from the main lab.

"Yes, ma'am." Kage replied.

"Good. Let us meet again."

"So? What's your plan?" Andy asked _Noir_.

"Heh, heh, heh. I'll need you to drive me to a spot where we can get a suitable atmosphere and I'll go fetch a little something I've been storing here for a while. It'll do fine."

"Teasing us, eh?" Kage grinned.

"My way of returning the earlier teasing…"

"Fair enough." Kage shrugged.

"We'll be reading the car." Andy announced.

"Go on ahead."

Kage and Andy walked away and headed out of the building through a back door to find the spot the black Toyota had been parked at: Kage opened the passenger door so that Andy's hologram could climb in and Kage closed it before opening his driver's door and getting inside: they soon spotted _Noir_ coming out while carrying a wheeled suitcase: he and Legato's hologram climbed into the rear seats with the suitcase placed in the ground in front of the middle rear seat.

"Head for Dock 11. Ijuuin will be there. I've sent him an anonymous email calling him there… Heh, heh, heh."

"Roger, Boss. Let's put some music."

"_Mitternacht_, by E Nomine, will do fine." Andy grinned.

"Sure thing."

A creepy song began to ring out inside of the car as Kage drove the car down an avenue which was filled with fog: he turned on the fog headlights to see through it and began to count the dock numbers stopping once they reached the entrance to Dock 11.

"This is the place. We're early. Ijuuin ain't due until 10 minutes from now which gives me time to get ready." _Noir_ seemed to be grinning.

"Man. This teasing is killing me, really. I'm impatient to see what ya have thought of this time around, Boss." Kage chuckled.

"Same thing over here… I can't wait to see what this business will be about but I'm eager to see Blues' reaction." Andy smirked.

"You won't be disappointed. My word." Legato teased next.

The four of them chuckled or giggled…


	16. Chapter 16: Intrigue

**Chapter 16: Intrigue**

19:32 PM (Japan Time), Saturday March the 10th…

"… This is Dock 11, alright. Where's the informant at?"

"I detect no – one, Enzan – sama."

"This is either a joke or…"

"Or a trap, Ijuuin Enzan!"

"Fuck! Who the hell?"

"_Chat Noir_."

Enzan had been standing in the foggy Dock 11 when a distorted manly voice rang out from behind him followed by the glow of two red "eyes" with cat-like black pupils: Enzan gasped and turned around to face this apparition.

"He's dressing in a black paraglide user's suit so that's why he can't be seen normally and wears night-vision goggles…!" Blues realized.

"Indeed. Rather _amateur_, coming here and thinking it was a trap. Maybe you should be looking up to Arsène Lupin when it comes to sneaking around, Ijuuin Enzan?"

"You're _Noir_, then!"

"_Chat Noir_."

"What's with that outfit?" Enzan demanded while having a hard time to conceal his uneasiness.

"It fits my persona: a creature of the night, seeing others which can't see me…" He announced.

"Alright. What do you want?"

"Maybe I feel generous and I want you to walk upon the right road instead of beating around the bush." He shrugged.

"What?"

"Heh, heh, heh. Listen up… Our organization, Golden Star, is a like an onion. You've just begun to peel the outer layers. You're starting to scratch the middle layers thanks to Suzuki – san's collaboration but there are secrets which only a few know about. Those are in the thickest layer and will be hard to reach at… And lastly…"

"Lastly?" Enzan gulped.

"The core. The core... The core…! That's where all of your beliefs will be questioned and all reality will be torn apart as if it was a mere background for the theater to see the reverse of reality hidden behind it, the blackness hidden behind it, the shades… Where I live at."

"Yikes." Enzan looked scared, for once.

"You think that white win because they move first but even so if black organizes a solid defense they will be able to counter white's movements and win… A single pawn can become a queen but it will keep on being a mere piece of the game… The ones with real power are the players who decide each movement…" He announced.

"But what's you guys' goal?"

"Stability. To society."

"How is a mass destruction program like…?"

"No, no. You're not seeing the point. Why do you think the big countries still refuse to fully dismantle their nuclear armament? It's called deterrence and it was the pillar in which the Cold War sustained. Retaliation strike… The fear of MAD… That's what supported that climate which dragged on for decades… So what we seek is something similar yet there won't be any MAD… There'll be just deterrence. Deterrence to keep the dangers to society controlled and, if possible, fighting amongst themselves into destruction… Is that not what intelligence agencies like the MI6 are doing nowadays? Double agents which try to build up the climate for the mutual destruction of eyesores…" He listed in a calm and explanatory tone.

"W-well… That's true, yeah, but…"

"Do you still not see it? Everyone's ambitions are fulfilled within Golden Star as well… Those who are part of us had some ability which society did not recognize or turned a blind eye to… Rather than letting them go to waste we recruit the best ones… Our pool of members is reduced but that's because they are sufficient and their combined abilities allow for our expansion across this self-centered society… Tell me. Is there a "self" to begin with or "self" is something you've created because it makes you feel better while shutting your eyes to the world and to others in need which get forgotten?" He continued.

"T-that's…"

"You cannot reply. I know this is a largely philosophical matter yet I believe one builds a "self" akin as to how you build a contention wall around something to keep things inside of them protected. Why do you think some people are in need of protection? It's not just because they fear for their lives: they feel better with walls and defenses around them because it boosts their "self" and gives them the sensation of being the center of the Universe… But we have tossed all "self" and all "battlements" aside to build up a force which will contribute not only to the stability of Japan's society but most of the stable countries' one: those torn by internal conflicts will be left as they are but at least the information will shape things in another manner."

"So you intend to pick information from intelligence agencies and make it your own to then decide how to bring "stability?"

"Wrong. You're looking for a hostile manner of doing things which we don't like." He corrected.

"Well. Seeing what happened at the hospital and such…"

"Be glad we didn't barge in and broke open all doors until we found Suzuki – san to then pull out."

"But you caused harm to citizens!"

"No permanent harm. Sometimes a few must be sacrificed for the greater sake… That's one of the mottoes in the NRO."

"What are you gonna do next then?"

"Maybe you feel rusted. We'll provide the means to make you shine again and regain your fan-club." He added with obvious sarcasm.

"I don't have a fan-club. Hikari does." Enzan countered.

"Hikari Netto, you mean? He's retired, according to Miquel – kun. He has nothing to do with this so don't bother him. The young man must be busy enough with his duties."

"Where's Kage? Tell him to show his hide."

"What would you gain from that?"

"Information."

"Do you honestly think he'll just tell you what he is going to do next, Ijuuin Enzan? Or were you trying to be rough with him? We all know self-defense because Mr. Keitai instructed us." He warned.

"Fuck. Forgot that."

"And I don't think Chief Sorodo would approve of it because it'd mark a regression and bring along public uproar."

"Threatening me, you punk?"

"More like warning you."

"Where's the long-haired punk at?"

"Legato? He's making sure no – one gets in the way of our conversation although it's very unlikely that someone would come to such a place at such an hour." The man shrugged.

"Why don't you show your face? I don't swallow that tale of the car accident to begin with."

"I don't need to. It creates a better atmosphere in which everyone feels amused by speculating. Speculation can be thrilling from time to time if you go trying to pick the little pieces and joining them together to form a convincing theory. Check out the Zelda Theorizing boards."

"I don't need to. I'm gonna take off that silly mask and figure out your true colors, you Frenchman wannabe."

"You are insulting my deceased mother's ancestors." He turned icy and sounded like Enzan had attacked his pride.

"Ugh. Spoke too much again…" Enzan grumbled.

"I will _not_ tolerate any attempts of physical assault upon me: apart from the showdown some days ago, have we ever specifically targeted you out of all people?" He warned.

"I know you didn't but…"

"That's your "self" and your "gonna-be-the-hero" side speaking: I can predict that you'll try to fist me with the right fist but before you can complete that maneuver you'll be in my grip and I'll toss you into the ground." He announced.

"Che. Clever guy…"

"… Ah. Asterix. You came." He suddenly looked behind Enzan and towards the end of the dock.

"Who…?"

Enzan looked in that direction but then heard the man running away: he immediately gave chase but his opponent seemed to be quite light-footed despite the suit: Enzan spotted the black Toyota the rear passenger door of which was opened in that moment with the car was ready to shoot out: the man jumped inside like a diver and the door had barely closed when the car shot away while dropping a Trumps card with the Golden Star logo on it and appropriately titled "The Golden Star" into the ground.

"_Au revoir, cher ami_!" A voice called out.

"Fuck them."

"They fooled us with the oldest trick in the book!" Blues cursed with obvious annoyance.

"Shit. And they laughed at us too!"

20:14 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hah, hah, hah! Oh the face of the terror! I loved it!"

"Yeah. I can see that through the suit's hidden camera recording you made of him..."

"Terrific, sir."

"Thanks, Legato."

"… Whose face of terror, I wonder…"

"Ijuuin – kun's face, maybe?"

"Sounds logical…"

Suzuki had put on a pair of headphones as she apparently heard to what was going in _Noir_'s room: Akemi was circling her finger around the right ear-pad while apparently tuning into the same frequency herself: both looked intrigued.

"But, seriously… That outfit was the killer. It made you look a Delta Force guy or something. The only thing missing was that IM weapon, Improved Munitions, ya know." Kage laughed.

"Sure thing… Too bad."

"By the way, what's the latest report on _Purgatory_?"

_Purgatory…? First-timer… _

"Over 85% completed… The interiors and "Zero" are the only thing pending but it won't be all ready and up until the end of May or the first half of June… Depends on how long the crates we charged take to come and how much time we spend with simulations…"

_Interiors…? "Zero"… Crates… Hmmm…_

"Maybe it's a new HQ?" Akemi suggested.

"Sounds like it and "Zero" must be a machine of some sort with a degree of complexity which demands a lot of testing."

"… Well. There's no rush. The more time we spend making sure all is ready to kick off the better… Has the installation of _those_ progressed? Will the main ones be ready by the time "Zero" is brought to 100% capacity or there'll be need for more?" Andy asked.

"There'll be more, obviously enough, but we'll have sufficient with those set in strategy data interchanging spots…" _Noir_ replied.

"Excellent. By the way… ED is cool, as you said."

"Thanks."

_ED? Ending? Or someone's initials?_

"How many have you caught insofar, Andy – kun?"

"How many Pocket Monsters in my _Platinum_ version, you mean to say, Legato? Out of the Gen IV 494 existing ones I've got around 230 so I'm still a long way from getting anywhere. But trading and breeding is quite a job, anyway, especially when it comes to the Battle Frontier."

"Where'd you get the idea for this _Chat Noir_ guy, anyway, Boss? Some French comic book?" Kage asked.

"Ironically, no. I got the idea from a small discontinued _manga_ titled _Magic Kaito_…" He admitted.

"Oh, I see. Well. I'd rather say we're making progress. Those guys can't begin to imagine what'll happen in the near future. Say, tomorrow's a Sunday, right?" Kage brought up.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Why don't we make them sweat for a little while? There's something we need from Point MC anyway or so you told me. Remember, the little secondary project."

"Oh yeah. I'd almost forgotten: truth to be told. I've been so busy handling the new info Joel – kun and Victor managed to dig plus discussing with President Hades if we should start tackling some major dangers of the underground or wait until "Zero" was ready…"

"Maybe it's a system to recollect data?" Akemi suggested.

"That's what can be guessed from these hints…"

"Heh, heh, heh… Heh, heh, heh… Heh, heh, heh…"

"Who's that?" Suzuki asked.

"Video Man."

"What's he doing?"

"Nothing. Just chuckling. Guess he's practicing for his next role as the film's bad guy or something…"

"I'm back. There were some guys who did try to put up a fight there, on the stadium. That's the place which fills me…" Burner Man announced as he seemingly stepped in.

"Ah. Burner Man. What are the latest rumors regarding our organization up there?" Cosmo Man's voice rang out.

"Yo, _Danna_. Well. They say we're paid by the Choina Army to test out new Cyber Weapons for the future Cyber Wars."

"Hmpf. Conspiracy speculation again…? They can't think of something better?" Cosmo Man sounded disappointed.

"Guess so."

"Good work anyway. Let the weakling know who is in charge of the flames here." Cosmo Man replied.

"Alright. Night, _Danna_."

"Then it's my turn…" A voice rang out.

"Don't overdo it, Dark Man."

"Don't worry, Vice Commander. I know when to hold back."

"Good luck then."

"Thanks."

"… Vice Commander… I have returned from my assignment in inspecting the placements of "those"… No – one has noticed anything and they are starting to work at a reduced capacity as dictated by the schedule given how we are not ready for full-scale processing yet…"

"… What are those four saying?" Akemi asked as she seemed to have been focused on the Navis' talk.

"Not much… They've started to talk about _Pocker Monsters Special_ _Volume 34_… And their opinion on the progress of the _Diamond & Pearl Chapter_ both in the volumes and in the magazines… They haven't mentioned anything really important again."

"Burner Man heard that they think we're a Choina Army front for new-gen weapons and Pharaoh Man handled something which seemingly gathered a small amount of data to be processed with our current capacity before we can fully analyze a larger volume of data." Akemi summed up.

"Hum."

"… Man. I got tricked _again_… I'm so lame, really." Zarashe could be heard protesting in the corridor.

"That's why you should be wary of her. She's the "Ice Queen" for something, don't you think so?" Beta X reminded him.

"That's easy for ya to say, Beta, but…"

"Raise your head like a prideful member of Golden Star! Look on ahead: Dark Man told me about some huge project we're undergoing and that it'll be complete by June." Beta X tried to cheer him up.

"June's a LONG way from here." Zarashe kept on being depressed.

"Jeez. Why don't you try to beat some guy over at WoC?" Beta X tried suggesting.

"World of Warcraft, ya mean… Could work…"

"Will work."

"I'll give it a try… Oh. Miquel. What's up, man?"

"We gave Ijuuin a scare. I'll post the video in our server and you can watch it to have some fun. It's totally worth it." Kage laughed.

"Alright… I'll have a look at it tomorrow. Right now I need some rest because I got done in by Ice Queen – sama AGAIN."

"Man. That's some bad luck. Why don't you complain? There's a rule about that."

"There's a rule?" Zarashe gasped.

"Rule #18: if one member of any administration drags another member which may or not be of their own administration into trouble or depression they can be reported to their superior and they will be properly scolded after examination of the circumstances by both leaders in a process set to be of a maximum of 4 hours." He quoted.

"Whoa. So, in short: I can complain to Mr. President and in about 4 hours later he must've reached a verdict of what to do regarding Bertha – san's behavior with me?" Zarashe summed up.

"Bingo." Andy told him.

"Thanks." Beta X thanked.

"You're welcome. Bye."

"Bye."

"Alright, Legato. I'm off to some sleep and you're off-duty so do as you please but do carry the security check around me. You know the drill so go for it, veteran." _Noir_ told him.

"Delighted, sir."

"Heh. Tomorrow… They'll be made to jump off their bunks and they'll get to know it wasn't a drill. Too bad, gentlemen."

He made a giggle-like sound and Suzuki turned off an app she'd be using through the PET: both girls nodded.

_Something is going to happen tomorrow… But what?_


	17. Chapter 17: Mantle

**Chapter 17: Mantle**

09:39 AM (Japan Time), Sunday March the 11th…

"… Scramble alert! Scramble alert! There are multiple hostiles converging on the Mother Computer's area!"

"What did you say? Call the Net Police's Cyber CID!"

"Sorry for the wait!"

"Superintendent Oda, Ijuuin – kun, Mr. Raoul, Meijin and Laika – kun! You suspected this would happen?"

"Correct! Go!"

"Plug In! Blues!"

"Search Man!"

"Thunder Man!"

"Punk!"

"TRANSMISSION!"

An alarm had started to ring out in the Science Labs just as Enzan, Laika, Raoul and Meijin along with Oda and Obihiro made it to the control room totally out of breath: the four Operators sent their Navis into the system just to see an explosion in the south and some figures rushing up the hill where the towering Mother Computer was built at.

"Halt!" Blues commanded.

"Hum! A swordsman… You go on ahead: this one's my prey! I, Yamato Man, oppose you in this hill of fate!"

Yamato Man was clearly over a meter and eighty tall in height and wore blue-colored _samurai_ armor over his body: it had a golden-colored band around the waist which was divided by several vertical and thin black lines.

His face was colored in a dull gray color: his mouth was a mere line shaped like a trapeze aiming upwards.

A small cubical piece was set on his chin as well and his eyes' iris was brown.

The round shoulders had a yellow band around their half to split into upper and lower portion.

The neck had a thick yellow metallic band around it which covered all of it expect the front: a _samurai_ helmet covered his head: a yellow-colored metallic piece shaped like a triangle facing forward was set on his helmet's forehead: there was another above it the shape of which was reminiscent of the Alphabet letter "V".

Three rectangle-shaped plaques of armor extended slightly below the shoulder but before the forearm: each forearm was covered in cyan armor plus a yellow ring around the wrist: the top of the palms had a small dome-shaped yellow-colored object atop them: the arm and hand "skin" was colored black.

Another three layers of armor covered each hip: the pale blue and thick lower body began beneath the torso armor: it ended below the knees from which the feet emerged a piece of armor shaped like the front half of a cylinder covered the black "skin" while the front and rear of each foot were protected by blue armor which had a yellow border: it ended around the ankle and left a small space between each piece.

The chest section of the armor had a circular cavity on it with his drawing set on it: it was a black circle followed by a white space and a second black circle: a black dot was set in the middle and three small lines spread from it until the inner border aiming north, SW and SE: each line had an additional curved line cutting through them near the lower end.

"Thousand Spear!"

"Don't mind me! Halt the others! Go, go!" Blues commanded as he drew his Long Sword to halt his attacks.

"You there! Halt!" Thunder Man commanded.

"Interloper. Gravity Drive. Let my Gravitational Hell begin. Gravity Man has spoken."

"Uwra~h!"

Gravity Man, Thunder Man's opponent, had a more machine-like appearance to him: his main body was a spheroid split in two with both halves hovering into the air at a short distance between them: his main color was red.

The face was shaped like a dome: four square white teeth which didn't look they could move were set on the lower edge while two brown triangles pointing SW and SE were set on the face: his eyes were round, yellow, and "closed" as evidenced by a horizontal line splitting them in half.

The top part of the head had two circular metallic pieces set one atop the other and two antennae – like extensions as well.

The upper half had a large brownish circular band with short vertical stripes on them as if to mark the boundary between each segment: two cylinders came out from behind the upper half and they had that same circular rotating band on them.

The lower body had a white lower-half-of-a-circle drawing with a small vertical stripe dividing it in two: a white circle with a red arrow was aiming at the SE and it looked like an indicator of something: the body also had that brown rotating band on the upper edge.

His arms were detached from the body and hovered close to the lower edge of the body: they included the shoulders which were metallic gray plus a round white edge aiming NW: the segment inside of that was colored in a brownish color.

The arms and forearms were shaped like two cone-like bases with two round rotating brown bands on the middle section: they ended in three metallic claw-like extensions.

The final part to be seen were three metallic pieces which diminished in size as they stepped downwards: the third segment had a pyramidal-like end.

"Heh, heh, heh."

"Fuck!"

"Oi! You kiddo! Punk – sama tells you to face 'im!"

"Alright, buddy. I'm Star Man and I wanna have a thrill! Shooting Star Shower!"

"Fuck."

Star Man was lower in height compared to Punk by eight to ten centimeters but he had a more "humanoid" design to him: his upper body was colored navy blue and the rest of it was pure white.

His face was white in color: he had no nose and his eyes were navy blue with small round white spots on them: he had two round navy blue/blackish ear-pads with a small reddish cone coming out of them and aiming SE. His hairstyle was punk in style (or at least gave off that impression): it consisted on five golden spikes aiming northwards

His emblem, a white star set against a blue background with red and blue edges, could be spotted on the forehead.

His arms were blue in color until the elbow and then turned white: he sported two tall boots with a brown upper edge just below the knee while their main color was a dull orange one.

Three golden bands were wrapped around his neck and a scar-like extension came out from behind it to end in a star shape.

"Search Man! Halt the enemies!"

"_Check it out_! Bright Man – sama is gonna _zap_ ya! Yay!"

Finally, Bright Man stood as being more or less the same height as Star Man: his upper body had an orange vest built over it while the rest of it was colored yellow.

His head was protected by a helmet which covered the face all the way until the mouth: two round dome-shaped greenish bulbs seemed to be his eyes' equivalent system.

The helmet's band covered his nose and eyes and was tinted black.

The upper section of his helmet had been colored using orange coloring: two grayish metallic cone-formation objects protruded from the sides of the helmet and ended in a bluish spheroid.

Another prominent part about Bright Man's head was that two glowing fluorescent green wires came out from two circular spots and ended in two electrical plugs colored metallic gray and blue.

His neck was covered in the orange vest which ended a short distance from the waist: his emblem, an orange sphere with six straight lines coming out of its lower edge and set against a sky blue background, was set inside of a navy blue edge with an arrow aiming downwards.

Two round fluorescent bands were set around his shoulders from where his yellow-skinned arms came out: the forearm armor had an upper orange section and a lower navy blue section: a sky blue band circled the diameter of it close to where the armor began: a piece of armor shaped like a diamond was located over the palm: the front part of it had another green fluorescent piece on it while the rear part was plain armor: his hands were covered by white "skin".

His lower body and legs were also orange in coloring and were covered in armor from the knees downwards: the armor was also orange, had two blue round stripes, and ended shoes shaped like circles which included a greenish fluorescent band and metallic soils.

"Four VS Four. At least we're even." Oda muttered.

"Hum! Did you think I would vote in favor of this operation had this not been something morally noble?" Yamato Man questioned.

"Guess not, if we take into account that you served under Serenade in the past…"

"Hum! But "served" is not the correct word. I kneeled in front of his might and he simply allowed me to seek my pathway in life."

"Gravity Drive."

"Uwra~h!"

Gravity Man was generating wells of gravity in which Thunder Man was being pushed into the ground to then be suddenly shot upwards and hit the "ceiling" of the well only to be dropped into the ground and have the process repeat.

"Heh, heh, heh. Escaping from my Gravitation Hell is impossible. Unit Gravity Man has spoken."

"So? Are you worthy of carrying on the "Mantle", Net Police?" A familiar voice boomed out.

"Oh heck." Enzan cursed.

Hovering inches atop the towering Mother Computer was Slur, having her long sleeves folded in the shape of an "X" character: a halo of golden-like light was emitted from her frame and seemed to announce her hidden mighty power waiting to be unleashed: Legato was accessing the computer in the meanwhile while humming a tune.

"Slur!" Blues cursed.

"Indeed. I repeat my question."

"By "Mantle" do you mean the torch Serenade carried?" Yuuichirou quickly guessed.

"Indeed."

"I will say neither yes and not. Do you think you're the ones?"

"Good reply, Hikari Yuuichirou – hakase… We are not yet. But maybe we will prove to be in the near future. We are not perfect or omnipotent to begin with. We cannot control everything and we do not desire to either because it brings greed and vanity with it." She calmly replied without changing her facial expression.

"So what's "Purgatory", then?"

"It shall be said when the right moment comes."

"And this invasion is a test of our defenses or you came here to look for something?" Yuuichirou asked next.

"We are in need of a something which we cannot provide ourselves yet for you it is but a triviality: one piece of a large device which you have always disregarded because you did not see how to utilize it."

"… Fuck. This kid's no joke!" Punk cursed.

"Meteors!"

"Fuck! Mad Roller!"

Punk compacted into the spheroid and ran across the ground dodging the meteors to finally run over Star Man: Star Man cursed and began a new attack.

"Shield and Chain!"

His shield bounced off some of the meteors and he shot his extensible right arm forward to tie around Star Man and toss him towards Gravity Man who didn't see it coming: the collision knocked Gravity Man off his position and the "Gravitational Hell" got cancelled so Thunder Man roared and jumped into the air.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Double Go-Round!"

The disks on his shoulders detached and flew across the air hitting Bright Man as he used his plugs' wires to try to strangle and electrocute Search Man: both got cut and Bright Man gasped as he realized what was going on around him.

"_Check it out_! What the heck?"

"Maybe ya punks don't know something named "team-work"?" Punk taunted with a smug smile.

"Damn you~!" Bright Man hissed.

"Mad Roller!"

"Wha~t?"

"Satellite Ray!"

"Kya~h!"

"Target: deleted."

"Hum. They were experimental prototypes… They were not meant to be permanent to begin with…" Slur muttered.

"So you built them in a rush?"

"It can be said so. This operation was decided in a hurried manner so we wanted to use these prototypes. They are not ours, though, they were all affiliated to criminals save for Yamato Man. He is a different case altogether." She announced.

"… Slur – sama: I found the files. I cracked their encoding too and I am downloading them." Legato reported.

"Good work. Proceed. You two: continue."

"R-roger!"

"Affirmative."

"Shooting Star Shower!"

"Gravity Hold. Gravity Drive."

"Thousand Spear!"

"Huff, huff… Long Blade, Wide Blade!"

Star Man opened some kind of gateway to shoot out streams of energy in several directions while Gravity Man formed a spheroid which he tossed towards Search Man: it knocked into the ground and Gravity Man suddenly made both Thunder Man and Search Man hover into the air before crashing with each other and dropping to the ground.

"Enemies are meaningless. Meaningless." He taunted.

"I wonder about that… Zero-range shot!"

"Gu-guwa~h!"

"Good job, Search Man!"

"Hum. I knew they would get too confident."

Search Man had placed the barrel of his gun on Gravity Man's chest and fired a zero-range shot which pierced through him and deleted him to Thunder Man's satisfaction: Yamato Man didn't look too surprised at how things were turning out like.

"Meteors!"

"Thunderbolt!"

"Scope Gun!"

"Double Go-Round!"

"Impossible~!" Star Man shrieked.

"Download completed." Legato reported.

"Good! Let us settle this. Hra~h! Thousand Spears!"

Yamato Man backed a step and then renewed his assault which pierced through Blues' defenses and brought him to the ground, beaten: he heard footsteps and then spotted Legato looking down on him (literally) while having a smug smile on his face.

"So, _kyoudai_. You really are rusted, aren't you? You thought Video Man was troublesome enough but Yamato Man here is a strong warrior: he was giving you chances to counter but you acted rather poorly!"

"Shut… up…!" Blues growled.

"My, my. Well, stay sharp. Next time I'll drive you into the ground so that you become one with the ground. Maybe you'll understand why the ground cannot be defeated like that." He taunted.

"Legato. Let us not sit idle. If we can advance the schedule of the CWC Plan even by a few hours' time then it shall be fine." Slur calmly called out as she landed behind him and spread her arms.

"Yes, Slur – sama."

"Let us go, Yamato Man. Blues EXE… Do reflect upon your failure."

The three of them vanished from the mainframe while Blues looked around and saw that Slur's wires had immobilized the other three Navis thus explaining why they hadn't taken part in the fight.

"Damn it. They got away with whatever they were after and proved once again how they can easily overwhelm us." Search Man hissed.

"Hmmm… Micro power cores research… Maybe it has something to do with the program Omenda- san developed for the conversion and compression of raw energy to be processed by some kind of system which would take into account each Navi's body mass, height, weight and characteristics…" Yuuichirou read from a screen.

"And they were damned right again. We're rusted and we need to train if we want to start catching up to them."

"Yeah, I know." Laika grumbled.

"That punk…! Laughing at me like that…!" Blues hissed.

"Man. I don't wanna go through that thing again." Thunder Man grimly muttered.

"Fuck. If even that brat was strong then I dunno what's happened to me: am I rusty or what?" Punk cursed.

"Guess so." Meijin admitted with a sigh of defeat.

"They left a note too. "Uncle Moran will beat Uncle Merton in the third round of the boxing match. Take care, Superintendent Oda." … Oh come on…" Yuuichirou read before moaning.

"I say the reverse! Uncle Merton will - PULVERIZE UNCLE MORAN! Mwah, hah, hah, hah! The battle did not go well but one battle doesn't change anything, fellows. We're gaining closer, I'd rather say!"

"Guess so. But we know something important will happen this next June but we dunno what it is for the time being."

"Listen up! I bet Uncle Merton will win in the first 22 seconds!"

Oda broke into laughter and everyone rolled their eyes…


	18. Chapter 18: Competition

**Chapter 18: Competition**

10:15 AM (Japan Time), Sunday March the 11th…

"… Hello there, Boss. How'd it go? My little idea…"

"Perfect. They got pounded: the three runaways who we momentarily recruited got defeated but Yamato Man beat Blues without having to sweat too much."

"What a pity. I'd loved to be there to see his face."

"Don't worry, Andy – kun. I recorded it."

"Did you get what you sought?"

"Yeah. We can finally complete the side-project."

"Excellent. I've been looking forward to it."

_More things they conceal… But I guess they'll end up revealing them sooner or later… _

Suzuki was sitting on the chair inside of her room and listening to the conversations next door: she was writing down important words in a piece of paper as if to try to make a connection between them.

"When do you estimate those to be completed?" Kage asked.

"Hmmm… About two weeks… The materials aren't easy to gather and the assembling will have to go through a lot of trial and error before we can get a stable version which we can then replicate." _Noir_ replied.

"Alright… Let's not rush it up: let's give them the idea that this little project is important… It ain't that much for the time being but once we figure out how to improve them then…" Kage sounded amused.

"Sure."

"By the way… Is it true that Bertha – san has been tricking Wan into dancing to her flute's tune?"

"Too true, I'm afraid. President Hades is to reach a verdict today."

"But I guess he'll tell her not to sink his morale anymore and not trick him into the business: maybe they could strike a deal." Legato added.

_I don't think this is worth it mentioning to Tango – dono…_

"Oh! True, true. I got a line with Uncle Merton. Shall we try pitting our wits against his?" _Noir_ amusedly suggested.

_Uncle Merton? Who's that?_

"Oho. Terrific. Go for it, Boss."

"… Hello there! You've just called Uncle Merton's Number 1 nephew: Superintendent Oda!"

_He's actually calling Superintendent Oda?_

"Uncle Moran's Number 1 nephew: _Chat Noir_."

"So! You're the fellow who wants to pit his wits against mine?" Oda immediately guessed with some amusement to his voice.

"Correct."

"Then… Showdown!"

"As you wish!"

"A gentleman brings a gentle man into a party!" Oda made up a silly pun on the spot.

"A Mexican who tries to ring the White House gets patched to the usual lazy Mexico City Post Office employee!" _Noir_ replied.

"A fellow walks into a bar and asks for both a beer and a mop 'cause he's a skeleton to begin with!" Oda laughed.

"The librarian buys a library and invents Library Man to do all the work for him while he enjoys some hot-dogs!"

"A fellow goes to Frankfurt thinking the town is the biggest Frankfurt in the world and ends up disappointed!"

"Man-eater running shoes come down from outer space!"

"Good, my fellow, good!" Oda congratulated.

"Command a commander!" _Noir_ improved next.

"Order an order!"

"Dance a dancing master!"

"… Those are so… silly. Really." Akemi groaned.

"Yeah. I know." Suzuki sighed.

"That's it, Boss! Keep at it: you have what it takes to do it. You really need to show them how you can shine when ya want to. Ya used to be too dry and hostile when we met but I've helped ya improve."

"I know. Old man Twilight's to blame…"

"Twilight?" Both girls wondered.

"He must've had no sense of humor!" Oda sounded amused.

"None at all. Always so cold and hostile… No wonder."

"It'd seem you've had bad luck when it comes to the President of the corporation, my fellow."

"Old man Twilight wasn't a president of any corporation but that doesn't matter 'cause what's left of him and the other black-bearded old man is on the bottom of the ocean within a watery grave."

"So true." Legato muttered.

"Hey, Ijuuin – kun… Do me a favor." Oda called out.

"What? Coffee?" Enzan asked back as if foreseeing it.

"Look up some man named Twilight."

"Twilight? Who's that?"

"Uncle Moran's nephew former boss, from the sounds of it… Some man with no sense of humor. He apparently died in an accident in the sea time ago…" Oda told him.

"Uncle Moran's nephew? Not again… I've got no time for non-existent guys drawn up of the blue."

"How disappointing, _monsieur_ Ijuuin." _Noir_ taunted over the line after apparently putting on a gas mask to distort his voice.

"_Noir_! You can't be serious, Superintendent! You're speaking with an enemy leader and you don't say anything?"

"We were having a showdown, you see."

"Showdown? Over the phone? How?"

"Simple. By telling each other what our uncles taught us…"

"You're not gonna tell me the guy is in the club too."

"Blame Miquel – kun: he gave me the necessary morale boost to accept this new behavior." _Noir_ shrugged.

"Kage is there?"

"I'm your _kage_." Kage made a pun.

"Don't fuck me."

"Who said I was and how could I do that over the phone anyway? Hikari – kun said you were like Holmes. Maybe he was praising you too much? Or maybe your brain's little gray cells have become rusty too?"

"Grfjtx! I demand to know your ID!"

"Demand? You're not in the grounds to demand. Even if you're Net Police's Cyber CID I've got no obligation to elude on my ID. It's for my own safety: there are grudge-filled imbeciles out there which would slice my neck off if they knew where I was at." He replied.

"What! But what the heck did you do?" Enzan gasped.

"Nothing. It's just that they want to blame for the death of their boss when that crazy guy should be blamed instead."

"That "Twilight" guy…? Who's that?"

"Who was the guy? Find it out… if you can. The guy made sure very few persons knew his existence and even less his name… I'm one of those few left alive…" _Noir_ replied.

"This sounds like a spy movie! Heh, heh, heh."

"Video Man. You're not gonna tell me you were eavesdropping, were you?" _Noir_ questioned.

"I apologize, sir! Curiosity got the cat, sir…!"

"Leave now. Before I think it over and shut you down for a month's time as punishment." He icily warned.

"R-roger, sir…"

"They should invent _Superintendent Oda Reloaded_."

"Oh come on." Enzan groaned.

"Ijuuin… I can see the sweat dripping down your back and your forehead 'cause I'm a psychic…" Kage joked.

"Hmpf!"

"Trying to play the cool guy? About time. I wanna see the real guy who bossed Hikari – kun around and showed up to save the day when Desert Man got into the Net Police's HQ thanks to the Muramasa Blade they accepted from the mighty and great Serenade."

"I won't deny that's what happened, obviously enough, but you'll regret challenging me to bring my anger out."

"Anger, fear, envy, frustration… They're parts of the cocktail the _Dark Side of the Force_ is…" He teased.

"Don't start with _Star Wars_ next."

"Yessir. We're gonna do the Kessel Run in less than 8 parsecs and show Solo how rusted his machine really is." He laughed.

"I never got the point of it: parsecs are _astronomical distance_ and _not speed_." Enzan grumbled.

"Look it up on Wookiepedia! The Kessel Run is filled with obstacles and managing to do it in less than 10 parsecs while avoiding them is quite a feat. Gotcha, gotcha, Ijuuin."

"Damn it, I'm not a walking encyclopedia! But this show is mine! Hikari won't steal me the spotlight this time around!"

"Ah, I see. And why did you behave like that during the apparition of Greizer?" Kage calmly asked.

"Fuck."

_That's gotta be a spot where he doesn't have a convincing answer ready so that's why he's realized he walked into Kage – kun's pace… What nerves to openly challenge him like that!_

"… Alright! We managed to settle an agreement so I won't be lured in with those tricks and then get into the trap… That was blowing my morale up like a shotgun!" Zarashe exclaimed outside.

"What did the bitch do today?" Joanne suddenly demanded.

"Yikes! Joanne – san! Eh… That's… She invited me to green tea but then revealed it was water with herbs mixed on it…" He seemingly improved out of the blue.

"I knew it: that bitch is screwing around with everyone! I sometimes feel like breaking that bitch's skull with the riffle's butt!" She raised her voice's volume.

"Do excuse me?" A slightly annoyed voice rang out.

"M-Mr. President…!"

"See?" Lily sounded like she'd seen it coming.

"Oh come on." Beta X groaned.

"Did you just utter a threat upon the life of a fellow companion of our organization, Joanne – san?" Hades icily asked.

"I g-got into a bad mood, sir… I wasn't being serious, sir…"

"It better be so. Rule #11 forbids such things. I could sanction you by having you do maintenance work instead of training for another mission yet today I'll let it slip. I just had to settle this matter between Bertha – san and Zarashe – kun and I didn't like your tone, miss."

"R-roger, sir…"

"Hmpf! So you're not perfect!" Enzan sounded confident by now.

"Who said we were?" Legato smugly replied.

"I don't wanna listen to that Blues imitation."

"_Kyoudai_ has nothing to say?"

"Go to the depths of Hell and don't come back. Ever." Blues growled over the line.

"Good. I'll pick Lufthansa to go there, then."

"So, Ijuuin. You wanna dig out all you can about us, then? Be our guest, I'd rather invite. We won't get in your way and we don't care what you use to search for us." Kage invited.

"Challenging me? You'll end up regretting it, I'd say."

"Who knows? Maybe Uncle Merton knows?"

"Speaking of Uncle Merton… He once told me to tango a tengu with _sevillana_ BGM…" Oda joined the conversation.

"Not again… Someone bring cello-tape and plug this guy's mouth before he drives all of us crazy."

"Make sure it ain't infected with vile, wise and elite bacteria before using it, though!" Oda warned with obvious sarcasm.

"Come on. You expect me to fall for that one?" Enzan asked.

"You never know, Mr. Smith."

"I don't know anyone named Smith personally."

"Who doesn't? Smith is a very common name."

"And so is Takeda." Enzan countered.

"Good point."

"I'm off. You'll regret pissing me off, you jerks."

"Come anytime." _Noir_ invited.

"We'll lay the red carpet for you, _kyoudai_." Legato taunted.

"I won't fall for that."

"Maybe you'll fall into The Fear's bottomless pits traps?"

"Well then… My fellows! Let us exchange wisdom again."

"Delighted…" _Noir_ replied.

"That was fun. I now hope to face the real Ijuuin Enzan and not some meek version of the guy." Kage sneered.

"And I wanna see the real Blues too. Next time there'll be no need for the Ryuusei Program. Our own potential will suffice. Our strength which we've built up…" Andy added.

_So it's coming down to this: the rivals' race…_

"… I found nothing about "Twilight" save for the _Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess_ for both GameCube and Wii." Akemi reported.

"Guess Vice President _Noir_ wasn't exaggerating when he said very few persons got even to know about his existence or alias. "Old man" may be a scorning form of mentioning him so he surely isn't some older man in his 60s." Suzuki deduced.

"… Oi, Felix! How many points did ya score?" Joanne called out.

"…350." He simply replied.

"Wha~t? You beat my 335 points record? HOW?"

"…Skill." He shrugged.

"Che! Then I gotta get serious in that department too!"

"It ain't like 335 is a bad score." Tom was seemingly trying to avoid Joanne getting another temper of hers.

"Alright! I'll go for 353 next! And then we'll see which is the best sniper onboard this club! Gotcha, Felix? That's a challenge!"

"…Come anytime."

"Man! Hell! Have it cha way: I need some shooting to take out this frustration of mine! Let's go, Lily!"

"Roger…"

"…Competition, huh…" Felix muttered.

"I know it sounds silly to you who were told how many to kill each day if you wanted to live through it." Tom shrugged.

"…Yeah…"

"But this is not the battlefield: that woman hasn't been in one and can't begin to imagine what it is like. I can't either. Yet you and I cooperate because I'm point and you perfect your aim based on my observations of the terrain." Tom was telling him.

"…Correct…"

"In short: competition fuels each other's ambitions and desire to be at the top of everything through personal effort. We've come this far we can come farther." Tom continued.

"…Indeed…"

"But we mustn't overdo it so go rest for a while and then we'll go for another round: I'll think of new customizations."

"…Handle it…"

"Roger."

"… Hum… That was interesting. I'd always been wondering how they interact with each other given their attitude. By the way, Akemi… Are those scars on Tom really the marks of killed Navis?"

"No. He put them there to cause a stronger first impression into the opponent and also to give way to fear and rumors which would make the enemy doubt." Akemi corrected.

"Ah. I thought as much… Any grunt would run at the mere sight of those yelling there's a serial killer knocking at their doorstep. Combine that with an emotionless sniper and you get a terrific combination capable of scaring the most macho of mafia bosses."

"Did you tell that to Tango – dono too?"

"Not yet. Those were speculations on my part. But I wanted to be sure of what I said before reporting back."

"Well. In our case I help organize your schedules and make sure to cover our trails when we need to be contacted. This "spy" thing isn't really serious but at least our safety is guaranteed. But since I like the thrill of working on the TV then I've got no trouble helping you during the make-up preparations and such." Akemi replied as she folded her arms and leant against a wall.

"True. And I hope we can continue together as we were. You're my best friend, Akemi. And please don't overdo it just for my sake. I'm concerned about you, too." Martha told her as she took out the headphones and turned the chair to look at her.

"Thanks for the confidence, Martha – chan. I'll do my best and I'll help you in anything I can. We're friends who support each other in a perfectly symmetric manner."

"Even if we don't figure out all of Golden Star's secrets then we can continue here anyway."

"Sure. Let's look forward to the days to come with optimism because I think we'll be pretty busy."

"… And then Oda will sing Oda to Oda!" _Noir_ joked.

"Splendid!"

The four guys laughed at the joke while both girls rolled their eyes at it…


	19. Chapter 19: Copy Roids

**Chapter 19: Copy Roids**

14:55 PM (Japan Time), Thursday March the 22nd…

"… Hello? Ijuuin – kun?"

"Suzuki – san. Has something happened?"

"Vice President _Noir_ requested of me to give you a message."

"What message?"

Enzan had been going over something using a computer in the Net Police's Cyber CID offices when he was contacted by Suzuki: she sounded calm while Enzan looked curious.

"He'd relayed it himself but lately he seems to have been off the HQ and somewhere else working on something consuming his time and his energies as well. Anyway… He called on my door a few minutes ago and after saying twice he felt sorry for burdening me with something so simplistic and such he requested of me to tell you to go to "Onibi Island" because there's going be a "show" of some sort…"

"Hmmm… Anything else?"

"He suggested bringing Laika – san."

"He's back from a quick trip so it'll be no problem."

"Kage – kun has not shown up lately and Vice President _Noir_ seems to be having a lot of stress. Sometimes he even seems to have bad dreams because he yells and sounds panicked. I guess he hasn't had some nice experiences in the past. I'm sure that's his real reaction and not some red herring. Legato had to try to rise his mood because he suddenly seems to be looking at something with defeatism."

"I see… Did he mention that "Twilight" man again?"

"Once or twice, yes… But he always cursed his name."

"I should've asked this time ago but did he ever say where did he come from or anything?" Enzan asked next.

"Not as far as I can recall."

"What about Hades?"

"I can't listen into him: he always checks for bugs twice a day and even if I manage to get on he seems to be working with the computer and making calls in a low voice so that it's hard for me to hear but I heard some key-words… "Clients", "insurance terms", "big fishes", "BCN Office", "NYC Office" and such… BCN is a common abbreviation of Barcelona and NYC stands for New York City… I guess he's dedicating to Golden Star part-time and is part of some legal insurance company… But there are several with offices in Barcelona and New York…" She detailed.

"That's interesting. By the way… What's the secretary's name?"

"Nobody seems to know it. We just address her as "Ms. Secretary" and she seems to be satisfied with that insofar. Right, Akemi?"

"Right. She's dull and uninteresting yet Joanne – san speculates that she's his lover. But I doubt it: their personalities don't match and he always seems to regard her as being someone with a lot of intelligence: he's offered her another bureaucratic post but she's declined and insists she is fine enough as she is and doesn't want favoritism." Akemi explained to Enzan.

"Why do you think _Noir_ doubted so much before asking of you to tell me that, anyway? Was he playing noble or…?"

"No, I don't think so. He has to be younger than me and thus must feel like he's not in a position to ask things out of me even if it's just forwarding a message…" Suzuki replied.

"Alright. We can settle that later. I'm off to that Onibi Island. Blues: contact Search Man and then tell me where that island is supposed to be at and how we can get there."

"Roger, Enzan – sama."

"They want a trap? I'll trigger it but they'll regret pissing me off. I'm so gonna drive them into the concrete!"

16:08 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Man! Now we needed to pick a rubber boat with off-board engine so as to travel to that forsaken island! Nobody's lived there since WWII when it was an armaments factory… What can Golden Star do here? And it's not like it's out of sight from everyone, either. There's a whole town five kilometers across the bay! How could they ferry in stuff and such without anyone noticing?"

"Maybe they used camouflaged boats with muffled engines so as to disembark and load in silence… Or else they used those "Dimensional Converters"…"

"That could be too…"

"I'm detecting a power spike in the central building, Enzan – sama, so it'd be wise to investigate it, sir."

"We should be careful, Laika – sama, sir."

Enzan and Laika were crossing a bay and heading for a small island clustered with houses in the middle of it: the island appeared to be deserted and there didn't seem to be anyone there given the silence lingering in the air.

"Here we are! Onibi Island. Let's rock."

"Alright."

Both disembarked and headed for the central building: Enzan and Laika rammed a door open and found recently destroyed conveyor belts and other equipment as well as four "dolls" hanging from wires in the middle of the room.

"What are those? Dolls?"

"How strange."

The "dolls" were about a meter and fifty tall and looked very simplistic human frames of no specified sex: their "skin" was made of a grayish material.

The head merely had a small protruding metallic rectangle in the middle of it and had no mouth, eyes or ears whatsoever.

The arms ended in small spheres instead of hands and had no care to detail like the legs: the chest had a small metallic circle set on it with three metallic trapezes forming at the north, SE and SW spots of the structure and having a small dome-shaped emerald jewel set in the concave cavity inside of it.

"If this is why we've come all the way here then I'll be damned. _Noir_ set us up again." Enzan growled.

"No. This destruction is not ancient: these machines are modern and the destruction looks recent. Hmmm? There's a working computer over there, it'd seem…" Laika replied as he looked around before spotting a computer further on ahead.

"Heh, heh, heh… Welcome to Onibi Island, comrades! Today we shall prove how dreams become reality. Video Man! Get ready: you can't miss a second of it and I want my figure to shine in the film."

"Please leave it up to me! _Video Man_: _I'll be back_!"

Two IR lasers shot out of the computer and bounced off a piece of a mirror to be redirected at the emerald jewels set within the dolls' chests which immediately began to glow with greenish energy and to grown in size as well as expand: raw data began to form inside of the field of energy and assembled to begin forming a Navi's body: both Operators stepped back, surprised.

"Heh, heh, heh. Welcome to our trap, foolish mice!"

"3! 2! 1! _Lights_! _Camera_! _And… Action_!"

"By all the…!"

"How's this possible?"

"Heh, heh, heh. Surprised?"

"This is another sample of our triumphs!"

Cosmo Man and Video Man were suddenly standing in front of him: Video Man's chest symbol had become the "REC" symbol and the tape between his armlets was rolling.

"That's Cosmo Man of Nebula!" Laika cursed.

"But what the heck are those dolls?"

"The result of the Omenda Program and the micro-cores' schematics: the "Copy Roid"! The first step to allow Net Navis to come out into the real world and explore it without any more limitations than their own size, mass and abilities…!" Cosmo Man chuckled.

"Yessir! This is another proof of how clever we are when it comes to inventing new tech! There are another two for your Navis: I'll be recording on the background and Cosmo Man will handle the field because he wants to shine. Heh, heh, heh. _No pain no gain_!"

Video Man jumped out through a shattered window while Cosmo Man hovered into the air to their disbelief and grinned as he flew out too but not before signaling the remaining "Copy Roid" devices.

"Alright! Plug In! Blues, Transmission!"

"Plug In! Search Man, Transmission!"

Both Navis' IR lasers hit the dolls and they shifted to adopt each Navi's form and traits: they looked around in obvious surprise.

"Admiration later! Fight back!" Enzan commanded.

"That's an order!"

"YES, SIR!"

Both jumped into the air and out of the building to confront Cosmo Man: he snickered and seemed to be ready for them.

"Cosmo Gate!"

A "gate" opened in the sky and projected a rain of planetoids towards the ground: Blues jumped over them and tried to hit Cosmo Man.

"Hra~h! Long Blade!"

"Scope Gun! Satellite Ray!"

"Slow! Cosmo Cannon!"

Cosmo Man formed some smaller planetoids with a ring surrounding their poles (like the planet Uranus) which hit Blues and drove him into the ground: he groaned and managed to stand up along with Search Man who'd been hit as well.

"Area Steal! Long Blade, Wide Blade!"

"Concealment mode! Satellite Ray, Scope Gun!"

"Cosmo Ring!"

Cosmo Man swung his ring around him and deflected the new incoming attacks back at their sources: both growled in frustration and were starting to get annoyed.

"Alright! No more Mr. Nice! Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Dream Sword!"

"Program Advance! Vulcan, Triple Slot In! Mugen Vulcan!"

"GO~!"

"Cosmo…!"

Both attacks met their intended target and Cosmo Man roared as he quickly aimed his palms at a nearby post with CCTV cameras built into it: his form "split" from the "Copy Roid" and the "Copy Roid" itself blew up into several pieces: Video Man became visible and stopped filming while sighing in defeat.

"Too bad. It was going so smoothly… But we aren't perfect either: I'm off to the base and to show this to everyone. O~h! What's that? A plane? An UFO? An albatross? No! It's… Falzer!" He began to mutter before looking up and gasping: he looked terrified.

"FALZER? WHERE?"

The four of them looked behind them but Video Man snickered before aiming his hands at the same Plug – In port and shooting the red IR laser at it to "split" from the "Copy Roid" and leave it behind: the Plug – In port frizzled and was burnt out.

"Shit. The oldest trick in the book…" Enzan grumbled.

"I had a chance to pay back for that humiliation!" Blues growled.

"Damn. Well. Just what are these "Copy Roids", anyway?"

"Hmmm… Analysis of its systems suggests that the micro-core allow for it to function by absorbing atmospheric EM and signals in an indirect manner as well as having nanomachines allowing for it to alter its mass and size to adapt to each Navi's program… The energy conversion program uses 10% of the Navi's HP to generate a "materialization field" allowing for the Navi's attacks to substantiate." Search Man reported in his calm and analytical tone.

"So now we know why they wanted that program and the micro-cores: and I can't say it's a bad idea. Yet… I'd rather have these brought to the Science Labs for further analysis and keep their existence as secret as possible too… I'd rather not report about them or a war to get their hands on it will begin. Let's pick the remains too. The factory has been sabotaged because they must have produced enough units by now." Laika concluded with a shrug.

"I agree with you on that one."

"Enzan – sama: a call, sir."

"_Eh bien_, _cher ami_? Convinced?" _Noir_ asked.

"_Noir_. I knew it had to be you."

"I'd rather prefer to be named _Chat Noir_."

"What are you gonna do next?"

"Ask the Author." _Noir_ giggled aloud.

"The "Author"? The author of _what_?" Laika demanded.

"Huh? Laika, huh… Che." He got annoyed.

"You have a problem with me." Laika guessed.

"Of course. You threatened the stability of Japan's Network and such just to have Rock Man face you when you could've just knocked at the door and said you wanted to see what stuff he was made of. And I still find it odd that you didn't really try to scan for that fake's intrusion route or retrieve the data of the fallen soldiers to then compare it to any existing record. Even a 10 – year old kid could've figured out that the attacker was not Rock Man." _Noir_ growled over the line.

"You're still going over that? The past is the past: there's no need to dig it up and the present is what matters." Laika drily replied.

"Types like you just make me feel… Rabidly! Overwhelmingly! Vehemently DISGUSTED!" He roared.

"So?" Laika was unimpressed.

"I'm so going to make a catastrophe rain down on you!"

"Come anytime." Laika taunted.

"That's my motto you spoiled serviceman! Do you think I don't know your uncle is the Commander of your base? Huh?"

"I never asked for favoritism and Uncle just sees me as another soldier except when off-duty times." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Nya~h! I'd like to pick a Gravity Hammer and beat you over and over again with it! And Colonel too! Using Rock Man as mere bait and illegally holding him hostage… Please! He wasn't even 13!"

"Tell that to him." Laika replied.

"You just wash your hands clean as if to prove you want to have nothing to do with the whole ordeal, eh? But I guess Tomahawk Man can be called a traitor because he just tossed Rock Man there and never apologized for that betrayal: it wasn't funny for Rock Man to find that they suddenly were restraining him." _Noir_ hissed.

"As I said, discuss it with the man."

"Che! I'll do that, yeah… I'll send him a little nightmare to battle and they'll regret their arrogance…My word!"

"Vice President _Chat Noir_, sir. Please calm down, sir."

"GRTFJX! Alright! I'll remember this you carrot! Hah!"

The line went dead and Enzan calmly placed the PET back on the arm-strap while Laika shrugged his shoulders.

"Blues. Plug Out."

"Search Man. Plug Out."

Both Navis returned to the PETs and then Laika used a program on his PET to write an email addressed at Superintendent Oda.

"I'm telling him to bring a civilian van to the port to help us carry them: let's put a cloth over them or something and pretend they're boxes of faked iPods which are just the carcass." Laika told Enzan.

"Good idea. We'll shake off any curious. Besides, unless they had a telescope I doubt they saw anything: the noise was contained her and if anything we can say there was a stolen Sony Pictures prototype 3D projector here putting up a show." Enzan smiled.

"Drown yourselves! Strangle yourselves! Cool yourselves! Leave yourselves! Firm yourselves! Attack yourselves!" A voice rang out of a rusty speaker.

"Video Man again? Jeez." Blues grumbled.

"How idiotic." Search Man fumed.

They began to carry the "Copy Roid" into the boat and covered them with a cloth before speeding away from the island: they failed to notice a figure standing in a rooftop and looking out through a pair of binoculars at the boat: the figure made a broad grin and looked amused.

_All's according to the plan… Heh, heh, heh…_

"… Here's the van. Let's get moving."

"Yeah. I don't wanna linger here for long."

_What, afraid that this place is gonna become your watery grave, Ijuuin Enzan?_

"Call from Mr. President… He wants to know how is everything going like and pulling up that "mysterious figure" hologram over your body 'cause it's obvious who you are… Zarashe – kun."

"Heh, heh, heh. Too bad."

The figure turned out to be Zarashe wearing his usual coat and clothes while having taken out his sunglasses to better look through the binoculars revealing green emerald irises: Beta X's life-sized hologram had projected behind him having the arms folded and a face which mean to say "nothing-impresses-me-anymore" on.

"Those mottoes of Video Man were actually funny because they were translated from Spanish in which the verbs conjured in plural and to multiple persons end up making up a rhyme."

"I knew that. It's become his latest obsession."

"I gotta admit something: ever since I was told why we needed that program by old Moneda I was looking forward to this day. Now ya could come out and be my sword and shield."

"That's my duty as a Navi anyhow." He wasn't surprised.

"Maybe next time we'll find Shadow Man and beat the crap outta him with your terrific secretive abilities?" He teased.

"That'd be entertaining." Beta X merely replied.

"And if ya think this is all there's to us… Then wait. 'Cause we've got the biggest trump card hidden in our sleeves…" He sneered.

"You'll soon be met with despair." Beta X formed a grin too.

Both chuckled under their breaths and sounded confident…


	20. Chapter 20: Personal

**Chapter 20: Personal**

18:58 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday April the 4th…

"… Yo! Legato. Wanting to feel the chaos at the start of everything or rather starting it up?"

"Heh. Not bad, Kage."

"So, is the babe kicking asses?"

"It'll soon be. The inner components are in place and the carcass is ready but the programming still has some bugs to it pending fixing. I guess it'll still take this month's time to start up even at low capacity. Then we'll be slowly adding more capacity as we final installing the CWC Plan components out there…"

"Excellent, my dear Moran."

"Andy – kun. I was dying to hear your voice again. It's been three days since we last saw each other. April's Fool… That day sure was crazy! Too bad that Ms. Secretary and Pharaoh Man were not the types to pull pranks on other…"

"Where's our cat-like Boss?"

"Oh, _Noir_ – sama, you mean? Up in the deck: he wants to look at the sunset. He's been working a lot in the programming too: you know we gotta do this in person to avoid any leaks."

"Of course. Well, Andy. I'm leaving you here and I'm gonna go have a chat with _Chat_ – sama."

"Heh. Not bad."

Kage had walked into a metallic room somewhere containing a lot of wiring under the floor boards which then emerged from square holes cut in the ground and forming a matrix at both sides of the central corridor which led like five meters deeper in where a tall machine was being installed at: Legato was working on its left side and typing into a holographic screen when he turned to look at them.

"Before that, though… Have a look."

Legato pulled a cloth covering the front feature-less front slab of the machine to reveal a golden-colored "Ø" symbol painted on the very center of it: both Kage and Andy whistled in admiration.

"It's official, then? This huge babe is gonna be named _Zero_?" Kage asked Legato.

"Totally settled."

"That logo is cool. But not as cool as you, Legato."

"You're praising me." Legato grinned.

"Well then. I'm off to the deck. Call me once you're done."

"Don't worry. We just want to have a little friendly chat, Miquel – kun, before going back to the mainland." Andy told him.

"Good."

Kage walked out and Andy then stretched while Legato kept a respectful distance from him: Andy crouched next to one of the square opening were several ready wires were emerging and looked like there was something pending to be connected there.

"The terminals have come already or are they still in the making, Legato, my fellow?" He asked.

"Over 98% of them are ready and undergoing final testing. As I said, we hope to have this whole thing rumbling by June at the earliest. We still are pending these terminals and debugging of the main software to then sync it up with the test nodes. Testing is gonna take us the last days of this month and ALL of May if the schedule is kept." Legato replied.

"It ain't like I'm rushing you. A lot can happen in these days to come but I believe in you and in our cause. Nothing can halt us. No army can get in the way: nothing will stop us from bringing much-needed stability to society… And to protect those in need of protection."

"Thanks, Andy – kun."

19:11 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Yo! I came to chat with the _Chat Noir_ guy: catch my rhyme? Or do ya wanna go trolling and rolling like a burning building?"

"_Where_ did you pick that crazy rhyme from?"

"Nowhere. I invented it, Boss."

"Hah! You always were better at that than me."

"By the way: have you been sleeping properly or is the fear of the dead old man plaguing you again? Be honest with me, Boss."

"… Yeah. The old man… Damn it. I can't shake it as much as I try to: I still have nightmares as a result of the enforced VR simulations… The fucking bastard wanted to keep me in a tight leash… By mixing my sense of reality and dream until I lost all motion of reality and moved like a puppet devoid of will… Damn it!"

"Calm down. The old man died along with the bearded old man on that day and not a single bone of them survived."

"I know that. But the effects are there. Even by trying to overwrite those VR thoughts with the chip implant they're lodged in part somewhere in my subconscious… I can't stop trembling and I'm afraid one day I'll screw everything up because I won't be able to tell one thing apart from the other…!"

"Calm down. Relax."

Kage had come out into a large ship-like deck filled with small buildings and structures: there were two gigantic retractable covers colored in a dull metallic green color suspended over the deck and which looked like they could encompass and seal all of it if needed: the sun was setting on the east side and someone was leaning on the handrail looking out at the reddish ocean.

The guy, _Noir_, had taken off his monk's cloth to reveal a youthful smooth face which didn't look like it was older than fourteen or fifteen years old: its profile was plain and wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

Today he sported normal clothes: a black wool jumper, fingerless gloves, jeans with a black leather belt and a pair of black socks coupled with black sneakers and sunglasses plus a black cap turned backwards.

His hair and eyes were not visible yet he was about two to three inches taller than Kage and his face was rather reminiscent of Kage's own face to begin with.

He currently had turned to face Kage and closed his fists as if to express frustration and anger while Kage placed both hands over his shoulders to try to calm him down: _Noir_ slowly sat on the ground and sighed while Kage sat next to him on his right.

"… I'm sorry. I must look like an idiot to someone so clever and nice like you, Miquel – kun." He sighed and hung his head down.

"Come on, _Noir_… Let's quit the illusion and go back to what we are: companions. We're all in the same ship… literally speaking. So let's ride on it until the destination port. The seas are calm and there's no noticeable wind or storm… We can do it." Kage told him.

"I know but sometimes…"

"Maybe you should find something to keep your mind busy… Why don't ya try analyzing the mathematical logic behind Pokémon stats and behaviors? The chances of a differently-colored Pokémon appearing or the chances of getting a differently-colored egg?" He suggested.

"Whoa! There's such a thing?" He gasped.

"They've evolved a lot in this 4th generation. I'm already dying to know what will go on the upcoming 5th generation… We dunno the names yet but they say an announcement on them is imminent… A matter of a few days, even… But I liked the remakes introduced in _Heart Gold & Soul Silver_… The new graphics and the new BGMs… The VS Champion Wataru BGM is now totally cool! And introducing rematches against the Four Heavenly Kings and the Gym Leaders too… Including a double battle with the Rival… New areas…" Kage grinned.

"I know. I'm still missing about 45 of them in _Heart Gold_."

"45! Not bad. I'm missing 61 so I guess we'll have to do some trading there and there." Kage admitted.

"Yup, guess so…" He began to form a weak smile.

"_Noir_. Come on. You're a rock, man. I know you can do it through this: do you want me to get an autograph of Hikari – kun which you can place there, in your work desk, and remember that he's the guy who inspired us along with Serenade?" Kage suggested.

"Huh! Eh… W-well, that's… Ehum…" He gasped and trailed off.

"Settled, then."

"B-but, won't he be surprised to see you again and all? We can't know what Ijuuin Enzan told him… Maybe he's trying to portray us in a negative light! You should find a manner of meeting him without Ijuuin trailing you guys or else he could get into trouble." _Noir_ warned.

"Don't worry… Legato is burning with the desire to beat Blues again and Blues is impatient to match swords with him… Lure him out and Legato can end up benefiting…" Kage grinned.

"Alright… When will you meet with him?"

"I've gotta contact him firstly but I guess tomorrow at some random café full of people would do fine… The more the better… I know: the Starbucks coffee in the shopping mall…"

"Alright… You'll… do fine. I need to focus on doing this… I don't care if I'm missing what goes on the mainland… I've been noticed having this behavior so I don't want it to happen anymore… The rooms aren't totally furnished yet but I've brought a camping tent and a sack in which to nap inside of one of these buildings… A portable heater… Provisions for three days… I'm gonna camp here and use some of the automated Navis to speed up work on the rooms… Then we'll handle the computer room where the terminals have to be set at…" He explained.

"That's the _Noir_ I know."

"Sorry for that of before…"

"Don't mind it. But couldn't you let Zarashe handle some programming parts as well? He's good at those. Just tell him it's a big secret and suggest that he better say nothing… He should pretend he's working on something else like an app or something…" Kage suggested.

"Good idea, really…"

"Yo. I'm here. Did I interrupt?"

"No, not really. We were wrapping up."

"Are you alright, sir?"

"Yeah… I just needed to vent it out…"

Andy and Legato came into the deck and both guys stood up shaking some dust off them: they looked upwards to see some seagulls flying around them and the apparently massive vessel: the waters were pretty still and there was no noticeable movements thanks to its mass and size: _Noir_ sighed and looked at the sunset: the sun was starting to fall below the horizon for the day.

"I guess I'll soon have to get ready to sleep… I should try to fill my mind with something entertaining or cool or something to think about so as to sleep in calm…" _Noir_ muttered.

"Try reading a Holmes story." Andy suggested.

"Why not…"

"Well then! We're going. Take care, _Noir_, my companion."

"Yup. You guys take care too… And if it isn't much asking…" He suddenly blushed.

"I know." Kage grinned.

"Bust them all, Legato."

"Delighted. I want to see them fuel their own powerlessness and hatred until they end up beaten up from over-training." Legato grinned.

"Glory to Golden Star!"

20:22 PM (Japan Time)…

"… I'm home~!"

"Welcome back, Netto, Rock Man. We've got a visitor."

"Huh? Well! If it ain't Enzan. What's up?"

"Not much… Training all over again…"

"_All over again_? Why? You're a strong guy!"

"I'm rusted."

"Rusted? Please tell me this is a joke."

"It ain't."

"Is that true, Blues?"

"Yeah. Unfortunately."

Netto got back into home and took off the sneakers to put on the slippers: he sported a typical middle school uniform and carried the sports bag which he left on the ground next to table as he sat down to chat with Enzan sitting on the opposite chair and looking beaten: Netto was surprised by his behavior and Rock Man tried to talk with Blues who avoided his gaze.

"Miquel's buddies are too strong or what?"

"Well. Cosmo Man so is…"

"Cosmo Man! Oh heck. I remember how he disguised as Forte to try to lure me out. He then merged with that "Nebula Grey" monster but we managed to put them down in the end!" Rock Man groaned.

"Now you see why."

"Is there anything I can do…?" Netto timidly asked.

"You're not to blame. Don't bother with it."

"Really? But that of Miquel and that program…"

"We already settled he was over-imaging things and was acting like a fan who thinks that someone taking a photo of his idol or asking some private questions is an attack on their pride and thus he must answer it back on their place… That's all." Enzan settled.

"Well. If you say so…"

"Don't worry… These guys are very different from the others: they seem to be trying to keep the powerful forces in balance so that when combined we can put pressure and crack down some eyesores…" He yawned.

"Here: some water."

"Thank you, ma'am… I'm sorry."

"No, no… You're tired, Ijuuin – kun. You need some rest and this will do you well. Would like to stay and have dinner too?"

"No, ma'am. Thank you, really, yet… I would be intruding, ma'am. I would be asking too much, ma'am." He politely declined.

"Oh, really… But you're welcome anytime. Right, Netto?"

"Sure! You're a good pal, after all, Enzan!"

"Thanks… Anyway… The other day Tomahawk Man had to deal with Video Man and he had some trouble before Colonel jumped into the scene but fell into Video Man's trap because he's recorded data of his movements and main abilities… After that he pulled out and it turned out that the security had been neglecting so some heads rolled across the ground and others were kicked off… Really… What good is to build a base in the Cyber World if seemingly anyone can get in with ease?"

"Good point, really." Rock Man realized.

"Are you sure that I can't do anything?"

"I'm sure of it, Hikari. Do what you do every day. I've got my other stuff to care about… By the way… Had Kage ever mentioned a man named "Twilight"?" Enzan brought up.

"Twilight? Don't you mean the _Legend of Zelda_ game?"

"No, no. A man named "Twilight"…"

"No. I'd certainly remember such a name." Netto replied.

"Guessed as much… Apparently it's _Noir_'s old Boss but we dunno where and when… This show is starting to irritate me, really… Speaking of irritations, did the wound heal?"

"Yeah. Pretty much. I've forgotten it by now."

"Sorry. I didn't want to bring up a bad memory…"

"Don't mind it. By the way… Papa told me about those "Copy Roids" and I was wondering… Do they really work?"

"Yeah. Totally."

"Whoa. Then I could go one day and have Rock Man try it out inside of the Science Labs… Wouldn't you like to, Rock Man?"

"Who wouldn't?" Rock Man smiled.

"Can't say it isn't exciting…" Blues muttered.

"Now I remembered something about Superintendent Oda… Just before I quit for the start of my 1st year I went to sign the documents formalizing my retirement and I saw him come down the stairs from an upper floor in a very agitated state… That was about August, 2008…"

"But that's long ago."

"Well. You say long ago yet… I've always felt like Superintendent Oda got into trouble with the previous Chief… I'd heard rumors that they didn't get along much…" Netto commented.

"True… What became of the man, I wonder… Maybe there was some reason why he had to retire in a quiet manner… It could have some linking with Kage's uncle group because of their conservationism too… Well. I'll have a look into it." Enzan reflected.

"I hope I've been of help… Lately I feel like I don't deserve being named a "hero" to begin with…" Netto sighed.

"Don't worry. You're doing your best."

"Thanks."

"See you."

"Later."

"Take care, Blues."

"I know how to do that."

"Good evening, ma'am!"

"Bye!"

Enzan came out into the streets and didn't notice Bertha spying on him from a side street while having the black leather suit and riding her motorbike which was currently not engaged.

_The home of Hikari Netto… They've had some exchange of opinions and such I guess… Well then… I'll be back tomorrow: I don't wanna miss how Miquel and this guy manage to meet in the midst of the shopping mall's café… Tee, heh, heh, heh_.

"What are you thinking of this time around? Zarashe isn't enough?" Full-sized _solidified_ Sandra asked as she looked up from scanning around the bike's surroundings.

"Relax, Sandra. I'm just going to trail this guy and figure Miquel's meeting place so that we can chat about it later…"

"As long as you keep it on that spot…" Sandra muttered.

"Tee, heh, heh. Ijuuin Enzan… Play detective all you long but my woman's instinct will tell me when you'll have given up… Which you'll eventually do in one of these days…" Bertha giggled.

"Yeah. Now can we go back already? It's late."

"Sure. Get ready, big boy. I'm going to see you boiling your brains."

_President Hades is a genius! Tee, heh, heh, heh…_


	21. Chapter 21: Duet show

**Chapter 21: Duet show**

11:11 AM (Japan Time), Saturday April the 7th…

"… Simulation Level 2: Start. Lily: standby."

"Roger."

"Let's see if they can beat the score."

"Hmpf…"

Joanne, Felix, Lily and Tom (those two being materialized) were standing in a room which looked like a filming stage taken out of some film studios given the green background which was to be later filled in by CG effects: both had their rifles ready and were standing keeping a five meter distance between each of them.

"Simulation: start."

The stage was replaced with an holographic stage which was a park somewhere in the midst of a city currently filled with people and having a stage set on it with Japanese flags and the name "OOZURA TAKAYO" set on the rear of it: some bodyguards were standing around it as a man climbed into the podium amongst the cheers of the public: Joanne aimed towards him as she stood in a hill at some distance.

"Current distance: 500 yards." Lily reported as she lowered her binoculars and looking calm.

"Heh. Piece of a cake. Yo~! Go nap and lose in the popularity polls, old man. Nothing personal." She grinned.

She aimed with the rifle's scope for the right side of his neck and shot at him: the dart hit his neck in a soundless manner and he quickly began to yawn and stretch before collapsing on the ground, snoring: disappointed voices rang out while the bodyguards rushed over to him to try to wake him up while others held the crowd at bay.

"Gotcha." She announced.

"Simulation over."

Kage and Zarashe followed by their materialized Net Navis stepped into the room from the entrance in a silent manner to contemplate: Felix picked up his rifle and removed the safety.

"Level 3." He merely announced.

"Simulation: start."

The surroundings now became a lake somewhere with grassy plains and forests surrounding it: the man from the other simulation was now fishing while riding in a wooden boat and the bodyguards were standing near his van: another one was riding on the boat with him.

"Distance: 550 yards." Tom reported.

"Roger…"

Felix calmly aimed and made sure to keep the gun steady: he inhaled and exhaled two or three times while tightening his grip: he slowly pulled the trigger and the dart travelled across the lake to hit the man: he yawned and collapsed face-up inside of the boat while letting go of the fishing rod: the bodyguard began to try to reanimate him.

"Simulation over."

"But, really… Are we gonna pull something like we tried on Chief Sorodo again? Wouldn't that be repetitive?" Zarashe asked Kage in a hushed tone of voice.

"Nah. That's just how they kill the boredom." Kage replied.

"Besides… They only make people fall asleep so…" Andy shrugged.

"Yeah, I know." Beta X didn't seem to mind it either.

"Level 4, _Danna_!" Joanne called out.

"Simulation: start."

The background now became a bridge over which two train tracks had been set and one train was travelling down it before slowing down when it reached the station.

The target was sitting next to the window and reading a book which he momentarily closed to look out.

"Distance: 600 yards."

"Go nap and miss your station, old man." She taunted.

She shot through the glass and hit his neck again: the man hung his head down and let go of the book which fell into the ground and opened up just as the train speeded up again and headed down the tracks.

"Simulation over."

"Level 5." Felix commanded.

"Coming." Tom acknowledged.

This newest background was a huge football stadium which was filled with public: the target was one spectator in the VIP box and had a bowl of pop-corn set atop the right armrest of the seat.

"Distance: 650 yards."

"Acknowledged…"

Felix repeated his earlier procedure of inhaling and exhaling twice while tightening the grip on the rifle to keep it steady: he shot but, surprisingly, the dart missed and hit the leather of the armchair mere inches away from the man's neck: Felix looked up, surprised.

"Huh? Failure?" He wondered.

"Weird." Tom frowned.

"Heh! Then the record's mine! Ladies go first!" Joanne grinned.

"Don't get cocky." Lily grumbled.

"Alright, old man. This time you're gonna miss this spectacular finale to the football club and Aunt Moran will have your pop-corn to feed the doves in Dove Square!" She laughed.

"Come on." Lily was annoyed by now.

"My victory~!"

The dart, however, hit the bowl of pop-corn and the speed, strength and mass it carried made it tilt backwards until it collapsed along the length of the armrest and scattered the pop-corn around the man.

"What in the fuck! The bitch! It has to be the bitch! That bitch set me up again! Grah!" She cursed.

"Wrong, Joanne – san." Kage replied.

"Miquel and Wan! When'd ya come in?" She whipped around while being surprised.

"This is no sabotage. Mr. Keitai told me these rifles' max range capacity is about 600 yards." He replied.

"Then how the fuck did Laika hit us from 700 yards away?"

"He obviously had a better rifle."

"BETTER RIFLE? MUST HAVE IT!" She exploded.

"Come on. Do you think we're here to comply with your caprices, Joanne – chan?" Lily folded her arms, sighing.

"Shaddup!"

"… Women…" Felix muttered.

"What! Got a problem with that? You Tom Cruise wannabe!"

Felix didn't reply and Joanne's annoyance began to increase: she looked about to murder something or someone at this rate but Kage merely signaled the CCTV camera set above the entrance: Joanne fumed and cursed something under her breath.

"Alright, Mr. Smart-ass! Where have cha been to?"

"Studying. I thought everyone knew by now that I'm coursing my studies online with a remote tutor." He shrugged.

"Yeah. It ain't classified or anything." Andy added.

"Get me a better rifle!"

"Tell that to Boss."

"He's never here! How can we do something without the Boss?"

"Doesn't he leave written orders or send emails?"

"Yeah! But it ain't the same! I wanna uncloak that smug guy!"

"I wouldn't call Boss smug." Kage warned.

"I don't know him very well but he's an efficient man." Zarashe added with a shrug.

"Yeah. In-fighting is forbidden by Rule #5 too."

"Nya~h! I'll remember this!" She cursed.

"Of course you will, Joanne – san." Kage merely replied.

"Where'd ya come from?"

"From my place."

"I don't mean today! Where did you come from? I only know they found cha in Houston and all!"

"I'm Japanese by birth. My dad was from Chicago." He replied.

"Chicago! Then do ya know why the city's turned the way it is?"

"Politics and paranoia." He summed up.

"Che! There's a gal I know there but communications are so complicated, really! Hard to believe such a big city can be isolated from the world just because five or six politicians want it to against the will of the inhabitants, really! Those Tea Party guys have gone mad!"

"No doubt. My uncle is one of them and I despise him. I hated being discriminated as if it was the 1930s so I ditched him and got lucky to meet Boss in Houston. Everyone hates the city government but the guys at Washington are getting cold feet. They seem to be far more worried with the Middle East than their own territories."

"There were… proxies… in Sri Lanka…" Felix let out.

"What. So you come from Sri Lanka?" Joanne asked.

"Yeah…"

"Why didn't cha tell us?" Joanne frowned.

"Nobody… asked."

"I can attest to that." Tom added.

"True." Lily seemingly recalled.

"Attention all personnel: officer on deck!" A voice rang out through the PA speakers.

"Mr. President?" Beta X wondered.

"Calling on Superintendent Vicente~!"

"Superintendent Vicente? A Spanish man?" Andy wondered.

"Obviously, but it could be from South Ameroupe… Maybe it's a supplier of something hired by Boss…" Kage muttered.

"Those little blessed despised and adored mice!"

"HUH? How can mice be blessed, despised and adored?" Tom uttered while sounding surprised.

"… Dunno…" Felix merely replied.

"You're very ready when it comes to landing! Very - READY!"

"To landing… _What_? Private jets, Boeings, helicopters?" Beta X wondered next while bringing his right index finger against his chin.

"Guess so…" Andy trailed off.

"Boss! Have you ever seen a clockwork watermelon?"

"Clockwork _watermelon_?" A second voice asked.

"Yeah, see… Under the copilot's seat…"

"I think there was a film named _Clockwork Orange_ but this is the first time I've heard of clockwork _watermelons_…" Zarashe trailed off.

"Brrr! What an avalanche! My head's drumming like a drum…"

"Wait, Boss! I'll soon fetch a cure!"

"… The guy's taking his time, it'd seem…"

"I'm back, Boss… I couldn't get it anywhere…"

"But… What were you looking for?"

"Some ice to fill this bag and place it atop your head… But I didn't find any bar where they could sell me ice cubes!"

"Note: for the joke to make sense you must know M&F were in Antarctica and then you can catch the rest of it." The announced let out.

"T-the guy was looking for _ice cubes_ in _Antarctica_? Why not use mere ice to begin with?" Kage uttered in disbelief.

"Guess he's dumb." Andy guessed.

"Oh yeah! You know what? We're gonna hunt Shadow Man down when he snoops around the Reverse Internet. Using our Battle Chips and Beta X's abilities then…" Zarashe let out.

"The hunter will become the hunted." Beta X sneered.

"… Heh, heh. I rented it from a poor-looking guy for a few bucks…"

"A "poor-looking guy", and that's me! Heh, heh! The granny's not getting away this time… Safety: off! When they step in I'll throw the bomb at their feet and… They'll fly!"

"How disgusting! A garbage bin sans a cover… They stink!"

"Relax, ma'am… I'll plug the stench out like this."

"I can't come out! The bomb! The b…! Gl, gl, gl… Hi~, hi, hi, hi!"

"Note: M placed a boulder to plug the garbage bin hence why Mr. Heir couldn't come outta it. You can figure the rest, my fellows."

"Who'd plug a garbage bin with a boulder?" Tom sounded rather skeptical of the claim.

"Brrr! I'll prepare another present with a remote detonator… I'll place the dynamite on the granny's room and come back to detonate it…"

"Huh! What wood-worm-eaten shutters! They fall apart when you touch them… There's gotta be a quarry close by… That's the second explosion I've heard today!"

"Ng, ng, ng, ng… No failures this time! Nitroglycerin! Just a little hit and then…!"

"Heh, heh! The monster disguise fits with these barracks. Why! Those quarry guys are pretty stint when it comes to working…"

"Djjj… Prrrtz! Time bomb! It's safer!"

"I'm going to nap. Wake me up when this clock dials 7 o'clock!"

"Yeah, yeah… Wake up… with a bang! Hi, hi, hi…"

"Well, I'm bringing it to the living to keep an eye on it… Huh! It's got a half an hour delay… I'll fix it…"

"That twit of a guy…! Luckily I calculated the explosion to happen in half an hour and…! H-half an hour…! The guy's suddenly skipped forward half an…!"

"Wha! Those quarry guys! What brutes!"

"Blep, blep, blep! The TNT bore! I place it and then come back to light the fuse…"

"Huff! There was so much dirt on the carpets! I'll set fire to it and get rid of it…"

"All will happen before you can utter "Holy!"…! The fuse's a quick combustion type and… and… and… Hi~h!"

"Those quarry guys are overdoing it, really. Some rubble has fallen atop the roof!"

"Note to the public: characters in this comic book never die no matter how many explosions they take in."

"Burner Man and Video Man! You two! What are you doing in the PA center?" Legato called out.

"Entertaining the audience! Miss Joanne looked like she was about to explode so we're using an M&F comic book to rise the morale! Let us finish, Legato – sama!" Video Man replied.

"Yeah! I'm having fun."

"Alright. But next time ask for permission to Slur – sama."

"Her Grace was not present today, Legato – sama."

"In that case ask Cosmo Man."

"Understood."

"Burner Man joined Video Man's show? That's a first." Kage muttered with obvious surprise.

"I hate 'em! I hate 'em! I HATE 'E~M! I'll have to use smarter tricks: the golden bomb! It's got a little device which makes it be attracted to golden things like a magnet… And since the granny has golden pendants… Hih, hih, hih! I'll silently walk towards her window with the bomb and…"

"Brrr! This bloody cactus… I had to sneeze when I was looking at it from up close! Here! Get outta my sight, you!"

"… A~h! M-my mouth…! I shouldn't have opened my mouth…! My golden… TOOTH! Heh, heh! Boom! Hah, hah, hah! Bang! Mwa, mwa, mwa! Boom!"

"The guy went mad from all those explosions, guess." Tom deduced with a smug smile.

"Correct answer, my good fellow! But listen to this… All's ready! I've got the tickets for the first plane! By the way… I saw the guy who rented me the villa… I dunno what happened to him… The madhouse guys were taking him with them… The guy had gone totally mad…"

"Don't be surprised, Boss… Those continuous quarry explosions were enough to drive anyone mad!"

"Catch the irony?" Burner Man challenged.

"The dumb guy and the granny never realized they were being targeted 'cause the dumb guy thought there was a quarry using explosives very close by… He sure was dumb and his dumb luck had him foil each and every one of heir's attempts…" Beta X replied while rolling his eyes and sighing in defeat.

"Correct, my fellows! Tune in again these days to hear more M&F radio adaptations by the humble BM & VM duet!"

"Alright. Show's over: go tackle these guys…" Legato told them.

"Ah! Some field job! Excellent! Your turn to shine, my fellow Burner Man, has come! Shine and I'll record your glory for all eternity! Maybe I'll show them why I use video tape and not DVDs… Heh, heh, heh."

"Yeah… Oi, Needle Man! Cha come too and we'll be able to blow some guys up faster: we need some working out!"

"Shah, shah, sha~h! My needles are itching for action! I've installed programs to make Navis hallucinate on 'em like they'd taken a dose of LSD, see! Shah, shah, sha~h!"

"Alright. Good luck."

"We'll be going too: Shadow Man's about to drop by there so we want to show him what we can really do without any devastating weapons. See ya gals and guys 'round the corner!" Zarashe announced.

"The hunter will become the hunted…"

"Do it…" Felix seemingly encouraged.

"Heh. Tell 'im Aunt Moran's gonna fire 'em!" Joanne grinned.

"You can do it: show them who's Boss." Kage added.

Zarashe made a smug smile along with Beta X and they chuckled…


	22. Chapter 22: Style Change

**Chapter 22: Style Change**

11:45 AM (Japan Time), (Japan Time), Saturday April the 7th…

"… Alright, Beta. This is the route our fellow usually cross when looking for news or people… The plan is to jump into him and attack him without giving him a break… Let's go in this order: Elec, Fire, Water… And then finish it up with the Charge Shot."

"Roger, Zarashe – kun."

"Oh. I see. Not a bad plan, really."

"Yikes! When did ya…?"

"I've realized your scouting but I always played dumb to give you confidence… So you're one of Golden Star…"

"Yeah! Beta X's the name! Shadow Man! Showdown!"

"Fine."

Beta X had been glancing over a rock's edge while crouching atop a rocky platform hovering in the vast space of the Reverse Cyber World and looking at a road some tens of meters below when Shadow Man suddenly showed up behind him: he gasped and quickly stood up to whip around and face him: Shadow Man drew his Muramasa Blade.

"Style Change! Beta Elec!"

"Oh?"

Beta X's color pattern switched to lush green instead of blue yet his white-colored armor pieces remained unchanged: he did form a white buster weapon on his right forearm which had a fin-like shape forming mid-way through its length: a golden edge ran up the right edge of the buster as well.

"Volt Sphere! Air Dash!"

Beta X formed a greenish sphere of plasma frizzling with electricity before jumping into the air and used his wings' built-in propellers to fly.

"Is that all? I'll slice it up in one clean slash… Hah!"

"Gotcha, _Danna_."

"Nugh! HP Bug!"

"Eat this! 100,000 Volts!"

Beta X stopped in mid air and built up electricity on his buster which he then shot towards a cloud and made some bolts rain down on Shadow Man: he growled and warped to try to hit Beta X up close but he merely cancelled his anti-gravity drive to fall into the ground thus making Shadow Man cut through the empty air.

"Flame Mode!"

His armor's color patterns switched to a flame red color and he aimed the buster at Shadow Man from below.

"Flamethrower!"

"_Nin_!"

Shadow Man formed a "Shadow Clone" to take in the attack but he suddenly realized Beta X was shooting streams of flames in several directions and one hit his right foot: he growled under the mask and then began to shoot _shuriken_ at Beta X who quickly flew into the air again to dodge.

"Flame Spin!"

His buster loaded up energy and he shot a tornado of flames in constant expansion at Shadow Man: he got caught in the middle of it while trying to head for Beta X and warped to reappear behind him: Beta X cancelled his anti-gravity drive again and Shadow Man repeated his earlier mistake to his growing annoyance.

"Ice Mode! Ice Spreader!"

"Eat ice!"

"Damn it!"

Beta X's colors became ice blue and he shot several triangle-shaped masses of quick-cooled ice which stabbed into Shadow Man's body from different angles and at different speeds: he tried to ignore them and focused on trying to reach Beta X but he snickered and shot a spear of ice which plunged into Shadow Man's chest: he emitted a muffled groan and collapsed into the ground trying to take it out: he managed to do that but then got bombarded by three laser shots from Beta X who'd returned to his normal color palette: Shadow Man got up and drew the Muramasa Blade now shining with energy: Beta X smirked and formed some kind of curved and indented red blood sword over his left wrist which he used to block the incoming sword.

"Charge Shot."

BLAM!

"Ugah!"

The "Charge Shot" worsened Shadow Man's chest wound and he collapsed thus letting go of the Muramasa Blade which Beta X picked to attack Shadow Man again: he then sliced it in half with his odd sword and sneered.

"So _Ninja Man_ has gotten rusty too! I thought _ninja_ always remained in shape and ready for an assassination job… Or are those historical records pure exaggeration?" He taunted.

"Damn you…" Shadow Man growled.

"Screen Divide!"

"Fuck!"

Beta X barely dodged the attack just as Colonel landed on the spot with his sword drawn.

"Colonel! What are cha doing here, in Japan? Isn't that outside of your jurisdiction? The Darkloids' world was a no-man's-land so the UN didn't complain to that but if ya have come just because ya wanted to then the UN are gonna tell you one or two things!"

"I got a request from the JSDF to compare notes and abilities regarding you guys." He merely replied.

"Shit. Shadow Man is one thing, but this guy…!"

"I have detected a sinner's presence in this area…" A voice boomed out of nowhere.

"O~h!" Beta X sounded relieved.

"Who…?" Colonel wondered.

Something in the "sky" produced a flash and a streak of yellow energy fell down and hit the ground: it gave way to Slur who looked emotionless and her bright "aura" was being emitted from her body.

"You're… Slur?" Colonel gasped.

"Indeed. This area has been stabilized by us and we are its borders patrols so we can decide what to do with bothersome intruders. Especially sinners like you, military… That assassin over there acts alone and represents no danger to us… But it is sinners like you who should be taught a lesson of how society looks at them…" She told him.

"Slur – sama, what should I do?" Beta X asked.

"You stay there and watch, Beta X."

"R-roger, Slur – sama."

"Hra~h! Screen Divide!"

"What a useless thing."

Slur merely aimed her right hand forward and built up energy there in the form of a white spheroid: she let it go and it slowly floated across the air before getting attached to Colonel's chest where it imploded: the energy released knocked him off the platform and into the road thirty meters below where he left quite a crater.

"Have you realized it already? Your time is over. Serenade did not pass the torch into you or us… But into society."

"Who the hell are you? How do you know Serenade so much? I was the only one who understood him!"

"The only one? Did not Serenade accept a request from the then famous Net Battler Meijin to protect Rock Man and his Operator? Do you think he did not trust others? Benevolence was what defined him: he never pretended to impose his authority over others and battled in an elegant way trying to avoid people from getting really damaged." Slur looked down (literally) on him and was unimpressed.

"Damn it! Colonel Cannon!"

"Did I not say it was useless?"

She merely lifted her hand to show the palm and formed some kind of energy field which repelled the blast from the Colonel Cannon to shoot it back at Colonel: he groaned and managed to stand up somehow but he was already panting.

"So? Will you understand? Or will you try to impose your opinion over others and forcing them to agree with you? Is that not elections are rigged like? People are threatened and forced to elect one choice… And nations have always done the same… Why do you think your own forefathers split away with King Land? Why? Do you know it?"

"Of course I do! Abusive taxes, imperialism, lack of freedom… We wanted to manage our own affairs!"

"Well then… And what happened with President Lincoln? One opinion fought the other and one won and thus was imposed over the other: that is how history is shaped like. History is written by the conquerors. Napoleon realized that on his own age. "What then is, generally speaking, the truth of history? A fable agreed upon." …So?"

"Shit. I'm out of arguments… Screen…!"

"Too slow."

"W-what are these?"

"Punishment. Be gone."

"What! Muwo~h!"

The wires which Slur had used against Forte in the past formed and tied Colonel to the ground: Slur then became the streak of yellow energy and fell down on Colonel's position: the energy release wiped out the cords and the road in a width of three meters thus plunging Colonel further down the abyss while Slur reformed and hovered over there while looking like she was bored.

"Beta X."

"Ma'am! Command me!" He saluted.

"Where is the assassin?"

"Shadow Man…? By all the… He's fled!"

"It matters not. He was no threat. He had fallen to your own power and thus has been proven to be weak. But next time do not take the eyes off the enemy." She told him.

"Roger, Slur – sama! As thou desire! It shall be done!" He quickly kneeled and made a reverence.

"Good enough… That sinner received a lesson which they are not going to forget anytime soon…"

"Hey… Guys… Did ya see that?" Zarashe asked.

"… Yeah." Felix merely replied.

"Good fight!" Tom sounded pleased.

"Heh! The cocky military guy got done in by our Slur – sama. The revenge of the sacred female, I'd name it!" Joanne laughed.

"Don't go shouting that out loud." Lily scolded.

"Could be." Kage merely replied.

"It's one's opinion." Andy shrugged.

"So the morale is high… That is good."

"Well then! My dear fellows! Let us start a new session! I've got a mission for those two guys so let's go see what they're doing… Aha! Working just like young wild boars! They're making the writing machines run at F-1 speeds!" Video Man began.

"Oho." Beta X grinned.

"If that is a morale boost then go on ahead: let us retreat firstly since our mission is over." Slur shrugged.

"Roger, ma'am!"

Both jumped into the purple "portal" and got inside of the Golden Star Cyber World which was a large square with ramps climbing both upwards and downwards being interconnected plus several private Warp Points scattered around with others of general use: one was labeled "Reverse Internet" and it shut down as soon as both reappeared in the Cyber World where Andy, Tom and Lily were waiting.

"Oumpfff…! A~ttention!" Video Man made an inhaling sound and then yelled out.

"So they were dozing off and had put a record to feign they were working then? Both the Boss and the dumb guy are pretty lazy!" Andy looked amused.

"Alright! Got a very important mission for cha two… Are you healthy enough?"

"No, no! See, I got my foot run over by one hell of a cargo train… Multiple fractures… Ouch!"

"Well… When it comes to me… I've got the Malta fevers! I'm burning! I'm melting! Ow!"

"What a pity, really… It was just about escorting a Miss in a young voyage, see… I've got their personal traits written down here… Francis Urracson… Swedish… Age: 19… Measurements: 92-44-92…" Video Man sounded disappointed.

"19, he says!"

"And Swedish, Boss! Swedish! Well… You know? I think that the foot's healing can be postponed until next year… Heh, heh!"

"What a coincidence! The Malta fevers are gone! Let's get rid of the boiling malt teapot… Hih, hih, hih!"

"Splendid, splendid! I congratulate you on your quick recovery! Please allow Miss Francis in…"

"I'll greet her with an import flower… Heh, heh, heh!"

"And I'll extend my frock-coat for her to elegantly step in…"

Both made a dramatic pause and imitated the sound of heeled shoes walking over the ground along with a stick.

"… Huh! How does that granny…! She stained my frock-coat…! I'm so gonna…!"

"Hold back, M! That light's worth a fortune! Hey, Mr. Super! Is this some joke or WHAT?"

"What is?"

"You told us this: "Age: 19, Measures: 92-44-92, Swedish"…!"

"Yes! But of course. Age: 19 lustrums. Measures: spine 92, shoe 44, bun 92, and Swedish… Well. That of Swedish was a red herring. Hey! Will you stop hitting your heads against the wall? Alright! Sit down and we'll talk about this." Video Man calmly announced.

"19 _lustrums_? One lustrum is 5 years, right? So the "Miss" is actually _95_ years old?" Joanne uttered.

"I see! He read it like that to draw them in!" Kage laughed.

"Brrr! We've fallen! We've fallen!"

"I'll be taking this chair, thank you!"

"What a hit on the ribs! I'm so gonna…!"

"Hold back, Boss! That light's worth a fortune!"

"As I was saying… Miss Francis, AKA, Francisca…"

"Well! Yeah! The Paca gal!"

"Paca… They should've put that kind of camel in the zoo!"

"Note: the original reads "_Paca… Pa camello ya teníamos el del zoo!_" which is a rude way to tell Miss Francis she's ugly and they don't want her around… Ahem! Silence! The Miss is going to start a worldwide trip! But, as if it wasn't obvious, she is in need of protection." Video Man clarified before continuing.

"Who does? She or the world? Well! They don't let one formulate questions or WHAT?"

"She is in need of protection because she suspects that some of her heirs are impatient to pocket in her great fortune!"

"And they'll take profit that I'm alone and defenseless in those wild lands to do me in! They are perverted people!" Needle Man joined while trying to make the granny's voice.

"Well. No big deal, really…"

"Everyone has their hobbies!"

"Is that what they told her? Come on! What kind of agents are those if they don't care about doing a good job?" Zarashe laughed.

"No "hobbies" and no crap! You'll start the trip immediately as _bodyguards_! Go help her carry her four packages!"

"… "Four packages"… Grftjx!"

"Hey! Ma'am! Aren't your forgetting the piano, by the way?"

"Oh! Thank you for reminding me, young man... What bad memory I have! I can't imagine going across those lands without playing Tchaikowsky!"

"So instead of "four packages" more like she brought the whole house with her, right?" Joanne laughed.

"Hmpf… They had us carry weighed backpacks and… do a two kilometer circuit… to toughen us up…" Felix muttered.

"So! To sum up… They got to the train station but then one of those heirs abducted her to tie her in the track hoping a train would run her over but they found her thanks to a "plague detector" gizmo… What fright! Twenty to nine in the evening! If the ten past eight express had come out on schedule I'd be a goner by now!"

"Ah! So true! Such a vile, infamous and repulsive act demands vengeance! Let's go, Boss! The culprits are gonna pay it dearly!"

"That's what I like! So you're going to capture and lock up the assumed killer, right?"

"No, ma'am! We're going to beat the station chief to a pulp for delaying the express' departure!"

"You can't be serious… They wanted the killer to succeed and get away with it? They sure wanted to get rid of the job!" Legato laughed next upon realizing it.

"Brrr! The granny got away, but…! I'll eventually do her in, anyway!"

"B-but… Ma'am! Don't be a brute! Don't put Boss inside of that! These locomotives can only work with coal!"

"Ouch! I'm burning! Ua~h!"

"Ma'am! You're bottling the boiler up! I'm going to call the train inspector, you know!"

"And as punishment she tried to put the Boss inside of a steam locomotive's boiler too! That's so crazy!" Lily laughed.

"Hmpf… Can't say it wasn't original…" Tom muttered.

"Tune in again soon enough to enjoy some more scenes! Golden Star's Golden Trio! NM, BM, VM! The B-N-V three-party-deal!" Video Man concluded.

Everyone laughed while the trio of Navis chuckled…


	23. Chapter 23: Rebirth

**Chapter 23: Rebirth**

06:06 AM (Japan Time), Monday April the 20th…

"… Uo~h… Huh… Huff, huff… Uo~h…"

"Are you awake?"

"Where am… I…? You… the gate…?"

"The gate? Destroyed."

"I've been… reborn…?"

"True. As a new being…"

"How much time has it been…?"

"Well… About three years, more or less…"

"Three years… The others…?"

"There wasn't enough data to rebuild them."

"What's… your name…?"

"Legato. Golden Star's Legato…"

"Golden Star… Why have you revived me…?"

"We were interested in trying out your power, see… And to fill in the number of Navis… We're interested in being an overwhelming force which will keep the small fry at bay… Our goal is stability… Think about it: isn't destruction something hollow?"

"Hollow…?"

"What is there to life surrounded by destruction?"

"Nothing… Hollow… Vanity… I get it… I'll lend you my strength… Time to usher into this new age…"

"Excellent… Let's begin your training, my fellow…"

"Ki, ki, ki… Let's have some fun…"

08:08 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Alright. I get called because the night patrol has vanished into the blue and find them drained of energy and knocked out piled as a heap in a warehouse… Golden Star must be laughing at us."

"No mistaking it, yeah…"

"I shall continue the inspection, Enzan – sama."

"Do it."

Blues was patrolling across Cyber City's districts and sounded in a bad mood as he explored some unlit alleys filled with a low-height fog which reached until the ankles.

"This fog thing is irritating me for some reason or another."

"Reminds you of Dartmoor, maybe?" A familiar voice asked.

"Hmmm? Search Man. When did you come back from another mission in Sharo?"

"Yesterday evening…"

"Good. Have you seen the Navis?"

"Yeah. They had something curious, though. Two small fang marks on the right side of their necks… Almost like they'd had their HP siphoned by a _vampire_…"

Search Man had showed up from behind Blues and looked calm and collected as always while Blues looked fed up with the whole setting and dramatics.

"Vampire? That rings a bell somewhere… It's something of some years ago which I heard second-hand but…" Blues trailed off.

"I'm picking up a signature close by… Video Man."

"Video Man AGAIN?" Enzan growled.

"_Video Man_: _I'll be back_! Mr. Lucy came to say hi and bye!"

"Mr. Lucy? Legato?" Blues tried to guess.

"Current position… 5 meters SSE…" Search Man reported.

"But today's opponent ain't me!" Video Man announced.

"Oh yeah? Then who?" Laika demanded.

"The Baskerville… _Vampire_!"

"You mean the Baskerville _Hound_." Blues corrected.

"Ki, ki, ki… Time for the meal…" A voice rang out.

The fog suddenly grew in thickness and height: soon enough nothing could be properly distinguished in the first two meters in front of them: Search Man cursed along with Blues.

"This fog is interfering with my scan capability and the sounds don't come in too well either… We'll have to take any attacks we get as reference to know where they're coming from…" Search Man cursed.

"Come, you vermin!" Blues taunted.

"Crush Noise!"

Some supersonic sound waves were shot at them and provoked an explosion which sent them flying across the ground: a figure suddenly formed in front of them still concealed by the fog and began to kick them around: a claw gripped Blues' neck but he quickly drew a Long Sword which he drove into what he thought was the enemy's right shoulder: the enemy stepped back and growled.

"Battle Chip, Super North-Wind! Slot In!"

The powerful wind blew the fog away to reveal the enemy: Blues seemed to frown under the shades while Search Man was seemingly scanning them as they clutched their wounded right shoulder.

"… Hmpf… A "Darkloid"… A former accomplice of Laser Man and Rock Man DS… Shade Man!" He announced.

"Now I remember! Rock Man told me about this guy!"

"Heh… That gnat did, eh?"

"So this one has memories of the past unlike the others?" Enzan quickly deduced.

"They wanted to make an exception for me." He grinned.

"And you're the one who attacked the night patrol!"

"Yessir… Or should I say dawn patrol? I've barely been around for two hours, see… I take it that Rock Man won't get in our way anymore given what Legato – dono told me…"

"That's right! We're your opponents! Long Blade, Wide Blade!"

"Satellite Ray! Scope Gun!"

"Heh, heh, heh… Shade Hand! Red Wing!"

A gigantic claw formed out of nowhere and gripped Search Man while Shade Man became a colony of red bats which cut the air on their wake and flew past Blues leaving some cuts on his body.

"Grah! We underestimated the guy!" Blues cursed.

"Ki, ki, ki. I could also split your Operator's mind from "Full Synchro" like I did with Rock Man… It was so fun beating that powerless kid to a pulp yet the result of Rock Man's anger was unexpected… Beating me with just his bare hands… I now see why Laser Man – sama had so much interest in making use of the gnats… Ki, ki, ki." He chuckled.

"Fuck. What do we do?" Enzan cursed.

"The usual last resource…" Laika replied.

"Alright! Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Dream Sword!"

"Program Advance! Vulcan, Triple Slot In! Mugen Vulcan!"

"Come!"

"FIRE~!"

There was a large explosion which eclipsed Shade Man's figure: the smoke began to settle and they found that they'd only managed to damage his wings and slightly scratch his main body but apart from that he was largely unhurt.

"Ki, ki, ki… Not enough…" He chuckled.

"Fuck." Both Navis cursed.

"Crush Noise!"

"Grah!"

"Ki, ki, ki… Powerless! Rusty! Old-timers!" He taunted.

"Oh yeah? Eat this for a change!"

"Muwro~h! A brat…! Where'd they come from…?"

"Name's Tomahawk Man you moron."

Tomahawk Man had showed up in an unexpected manner and stuck his weapon into Shade Man from behind: he hissed and whipped around to try to hit him but was repelled by a green-colored energy field of some sort: Shade Man gasped and then saw a shower of meteors heading for him: they bombarded him several times at the same time the spinning tomahawk plunged into his upper chest: he collapsed into the ground, moaning, and Video Man let out a gasp of horror.

"No, no AND NO! It was going so perfectly! Where did this unaccounted for actor come from? You MORON! You've ruined the filming! I'm gonna bring ya to court!" He exclaimed.

"You're next, video freak." Blues announced.

"Enough." A commanding voice boomed out.

"Damn it." Enzan growled.

Slur suddenly appeared on the scene hovering over them and having her arms folded, as usual: Video Man gasped and quickly kneeled while Shade Man made a reverence while on his fours.

"Shade Man. Do not think of yourself as useless. You have said it yourself: you have been reborn barely two hours ago and maybe we have tried to speed it up too much. Yet we did not believe that young Navi would so foolishly come here… Unless it is a coincidence which I do not say it cannot be…" She announced before starting to mutter and direct an uninterested glance at Tomahawk Man.

"That Navi just made my body chill with her glare… I better not say anything at all…" Tomahawk Man muttered.

"So, young one. Why are you here?"

"Eh? Me? Well… I'd come to visit Rock Man and I happened to find this one mess…" He admitted.

"Maybe you have forgotten something named time zones? It is past 18:00 PM and it is a Sunday in your nation… But it is barely past 8:00 AM and Monday here… So I would say you have picked a bad moment… I am not an expert at those but generally young people are at their academies by this hour, are they not?" She shrugged.

"W-well… That's right. I totally forgot about that." Tomahawk Man admitted.

"Time zones…? Oh now I remember… True, we say EST and PST there at home but…" Dingo trailed off.

"What do you intend to do by reviving Shade Man? Open up the gate or what?" Barrel suddenly came into the line.

"You people destroyed it back then. Nothing is left."

"Hmpf… So Laser Man comes next?"

"Laser Man cannot be revived: there was not any data left of him outside of their world to be of use… We have enough with this one last addition and maybe we will employ some Navis which do not belong to our organization as well…" She merely replied.

"What did Serenade see in you?" Barrel suddenly asked as if trying to catch her off-guard.

"Ah. I was wondering when you would ask that of me. It is rather simple, truth to be told… Serenade taught me how to channel out my abilities yet how mere presence could turn the tide of a battle without having me attack or move a finger… He is the one who helped become who I am today… And such I will try to bring the stability he desired to this society along with my… collaborators… Maybe we would have disagreed on the manner but we seek the same, anyway…" She dully exposed without being surprised.

"And thus you want to crackpot on us?"

"Just your persona. It is not fair to be discriminated just because the very top did something abusive which you had no connection to. And people shall not like to know that you ignored the UN treaties and your superiors and dared to challenge the authorities head-on… They would most likely judge you to be reckless… But I wonder if the same can be told about your superiors… We sent them some Columbine flowers as a little reminder that we know who they are and that we have not faltered. On the contrary: the means to gain stability are being built and they are in an advanced stage… They will start testing soon enough and by this summer you will realize what it all meant to be…" She continued.

She made a dismissing gesture to both Shade Man and Video Man who quickly jumped inside of the gateway Slur formed while she directed another uninterested glare at them.

"If you see Rock Man, then… Do not forget to keep him up to date. Let us say Andy would like to know if he is up to date and anything which can raise our members' morale is welcome. Farewell."

She jumped into the gateway and vanished as well: Tomahawk Man sighed in relief.

"Man! For a moment I thought I was dead man."

"No wonder." Blues muttered.

"Anyone would've."

"Guess I'll have to wander around 'till his break time…"

"Yeah. Guess so." Blues replied.

"Mr. Barrel… What happened to Colonel some days ago?"

"That woman tossed him into the lower recesses of the Reverse Internet and left him there in a pretty bad state… Shadow Man helped rescue him and they got back to base… Colonel took 60 hours' time to fully recover and Shadow Man about 12… Another example of just how damaging the opponent's attacks are…" Barrel replied.

"I see. All we know insofar is that they hope to have something ready by May or June depending on how fast they work… And that something may involve some kind of new-generation machine… It's all too vague and our informant is doing the best they can but with one of their bosses being absent as of late and the other being in the lookout for microphones then it's becoming hard." Laika detailed.

"The man named Joel also is very sporadic. He comes to bring reports to Hades but apart from that he doesn't remain there and comes and goes like Kage… We did check his old address but only found a slashed and smashed photograph frame having a photo of a man whom we suspect to be his uncle…" Enzan added.

"The fanatical Tea Party man, huh… We could do better without those guys out there which are giving all of our agencies several headaches which are being felt here. Some in the base have family there and having communications be restricted is just too much for them. The networks are boiling with protests and petitions to the White House to depose the guys there saying they're screwing the Constitution…"

"The world is really going crazy at some spots, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Truly crazy. And, Dingo… I'd rather tell you to stay as far from that town as possible… They could try to say that because you're half-native they don't want you coming in there or something like that… It'd be better if you remained here…"

"Roger… Man. I miss the old times: all was simpler back then."

Everyone sighed in defeat and exasperation…

11:10 AM (Japan Time)…

"… and then Dekao – sama and Guts Man went and beat Angle the Fish in one blow, guts! After all Dekao – sama is the Number One Net Battler of Akihara City! Guts!"

"Wait, the Number _One_? Ever since when, Guts Man?"

"Huh… Guts Man doesn't know, Roll – chan…"

"It was predictable, was it not?"

"Yeah. Totally. But I won't deny I retired. Yet Guts Man is light-years away from Blues' level."

Guts Man, Roll, Glyde and Rock Man were having a chat inside of their Cyber World classroom: Rock Man was sitting on his seat and looking at the other three standing close to him with a relaxed face: he merely lifted an eyebrow when he head of Dekao's boasts while Roll looked offended with the ordeal.

"Dekao – kun. Mind to explain?" Sakurai Meiru called out: her voice could be heard over her holographic screen.

"Explain what, Meiru?" Ooyama Dekao's voice asked.

"Your latest claims."

"Oh! Those? Well. That's what I am, yeah."

"You damned liar."

"Wha!"

"It's true that Netto quit but that doesn't mean you're above Ijuuin – kun, are you? Have you tried even ONCE to battle him?"

"That guy's unrelated!"

"Oh yeah? Cha don't know he's the strongest Net Battler left around here, Dekao?" Ayanokouji Yaito questioned.

"I'm the strongest! Say it, Netto?"

"Enzan is. End of the story." Netto calmly replied.

"Why do ya defend that punk? He's stealing your glory!"

"And so are you." Netto pointed out.

"Yikes!"

"Aha-hah!" Both girls told him.

"Man."

"You - FAIL!"

"Alright, alright. Don't overdo it either."

"Guts… Dekao – sama… Guts…"

"How many times do we have to go over this?" Roll complained.

"I do not know."

"A trillion, I'd say." Rock Man rolled his eyes.

"That Dekao…" Netto muttered.

"I know: he's so troublesome, Netto – kun."

"Anyway… I'm wondering what Miquel has been up to lately. Guess I should call Enzan." Netto wondered aloud.

"Guess so. Maybe Blues knows something new or Search Man is also around to ask of him… If he's in the mood to, though…"

"Listen up! I'm gonna become the Akihara Middle School Eternal Champion of Net Battling!" Dekao boasted.

"SHUT UP YOU MORON!" Both girls snapped at him.

"I prefer a hundred Viruses to that guy." Rock Man groaned.

"Yeah. I get the same feeling too, Rock Man…"

"Guts! Guts Man will become the King of Guts Men!"

Rock Man rolled his eyes in exasperation along with Netto…


	24. Chapter 24: Menace

**Chapter 24: Menace**

08:48 AM (Japan Time), Wednesday April the 29th…

"… I am sorry for calling you so early in the morning taking into account you returned at a late hour from Site P yet… I've had an idea which I wanted to share with you, Vice President _Noir_…"

"Don't mind it, sir… I'll survive. So… What is the idea, sir?"

"We could make use of those Navis we recruited with an impatient behavior and send them in three groups to pick their respective opponents…"

"Hmmm… So a five-way strike if we include Thunder Man and Tomahawk Man into the list… Sounds good enough…"

"By the way… Regarding Point P…"

"Oh yeah… The terminals and all hardware installation are completed when it comes to Zero: the other electrical wiring and systems of the infrastructure are 89% completed and should be done by next month more or less… The moving there would take place around July or August once we'd run the first trials of the software…"

"Excellent. But please don't overdo yourself."

"I'll try to, sir…"

"Please have some rest. This operation won't take place until the weekend so there's time to rest. I'm sure the building team can manage perfectly by following the instructions… I know you want to feel like you're doing real job but it's no good to drive yourself to such an extreme…"

Hades had summoned _Noir_ (having his black monk's cloth on) to his office which had a desk, two armchairs, one canvas of a sail boat, and a safe behind his armchair: a VAIO laptop had been set atop the desk along with some folders having documents: a portable lamp was set in an angle which barely illuminated the desk and hid most of Hades' figure: a perch on the right side of the room had his gray trench coat hanging from it along with a brown hat having a black band around it.

"A-alright, sir…"

"President Hades? The tea…" A voice rang out.

"Ah. _Mademoiselle_… Do please come inside."

The secretary came inside carrying a tray in which a teacup plus a teapot had been placed: she left it atop the table.

"I am sorry to ask this of you."

"Do not mind it."

"I shall be going, then." _Noir_ announced as he stood up.

"Sleep well."

"Thank you, sir. Goodbye, ma'am."

"Goodbye."

_Noir_ came out of the office and barely repressed a yawn as he sluggishly walked down the corridor: he suddenly tripped with something and met the ground: he groaned and managed to stand up while rubbing his right cheek which was bleeding because he apparently got a cut there.

"Crap." He cursed.

He quickly stood up and rushed into his room where he closed himself in the bathroom and lowered the hood: his eyes' irises were blue and his hair was blond in coloring: he looked remarkably similar to Kage as well yet his face had a different profile to it.

"I pushed it again and now I go and trip with my own shoes' cord… What a lovely way to end the month, really."

He picked a handkerchief and rubbed the cut before opening a small cupboard and applying disinfectant alcohol to it before sighing and looking at his eyes which displayed obvious tiredness.

"There's no other way around. I gotta prove I'm someone devout to my duties and not some idiotic pencil-pusher. _Purgatory_ and Zero will be ready on schedule and I'll see to it!"

17:19 PM (Japan Time)…

"… and then with my super smashing it all fist I beat that 100 kilo bully thus becoming the savior of that 1st grader!"

"And when did that happen?"

"Huh?"

"_When_ did that happen?"

"Oh. This morning at break time, ya know. Everyone saw me."

"You MORON!"

"Yikes!"

"There we go again."

"Hey."

"Oh! Enzan! What a coincidence: I was thinking of you and how we were gonna meet tomorrow at the monthly meeting."

Dekao had been boasting again and the girls snapped at him while Netto spotted Enzan standing to the right of the entrance: he was folding his arms and leaning against the wall while closing his eyes.

"I've gotten new info."

"Oh? New info regarding Miquel's buddies? What was their name again, anyway? I have a hard time remembering their name…"

"Golden Star."

"Oh yeah! Golden Star…"

"Heh! I'll beat them all!" Dekao boasted.

"Try beating me first. Will you, Ooyama?" Enzan challenged.

"You're no – one." He scoffed.

"Why? Because I don't live in Akihara City? It ain't the center of the Universe last time I checked."

"Wha~t? Then all those incidents were what!"

"Mere coincidences. There were others in other places."

"This JERK…! Showdown!"

"Alright. Blues. Shake them up." Enzan commanded.

"Roger, Enzan – sama. Come!"

"Guts Machine Gun!"

"Slow! Neo Variable Sword! Hrah!"

"Guts!"

"No way! There's no one faster than my INVINCIBLE Guts Man!"

"There we go again." Meiru fumed.

"Men will be men!" Yaito snickered.

"Oi. Does that apply to me too?" Netto asked.

"No." Both replied.

"Alright, alright."

"Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Slot In! Dream Sword! Go!"

"Eat this!"

"Guts Hammer… GATTSU~!"

"Match over." An automated voice announced.

"No way! Total battling time: 20.39 seconds? Busting Level S? That's impossible! I'm the Champion of Akihara Town!"

"You aren't and never were and never will be." Meiru told him in an icy tone of voice.

"Hah! Take that, _Chibi_ King Kong Man!" Yaito taunted.

"Wha~t?" He growled.

"So, Enzan… What's going on with those guys?"

"A lot. But they'll be sending out five Navis to attack me, Search Man, Colonel, Tomahawk Man, Thunder Man and Punk on the weekend to heat us up." He sighed.

"Isn't there anything I can do to help?" Netto asked.

"Sorry. But no." He replied.

They failed to notice a figure spying on them from close by: the figure had a knife on the right hand and looked annoyed.

_There's the brat! Today I'll pay back the humiliation I went through not once but twice!_

"Sadly enough, my good sir… That will not come to happen. You've left behind a trail miles long which was easy enough to follow until I got to your person."

"Who the fuck?"

"Joel Agoras. _Private eye_."

"WHA~T?"

"You won't get anywhere save the police station so start by discarding that knife… _Senhor_ Hino Kenichi. And those are my Brazilian genes speaking."

Hinoken, former WWW member, had been spying on the group when Joel Agoras showed up behind him while having a smug smile on his face and his glasses shining in a sinister manner: he'd placed both hands behind and looked calm while Hinoken looked about to explode.

"I'm gonna rip you up!"

"I think otherwise."

Agoras suddenly drew his tranquilizer gun which he'd been hiding behind him and shot a dart at Hinoken's right knee: he gasped and let go of the knife as he quickly hit the floor to begin snoring.

"What was that sound…? Ah! You're… Golden Star's Joel!"

"Whoa! That's Hinoken of the WWW! Flame Man's Operator!"

Enzan and Netto heard a noise and rushed at the scene, surprised to find both of them: Agoras had already hidden the gun in a holster he carried under the coat.

"Good morning, gentlemen. Ijuuin – kun and Hikari – kun, am I correct in that aspect?" He politely asked.

"So you're one of Miquel's buddies?"

"Kage – kun's? Correct. I don't see him often but he is very sharp and skilled: no – one denies that fact." He smiled.

"And you're a buddy of Andy too?" Rock Man asked Victor.

"Correct. He had a message for you, Rock Man - kun."

"A message for me…? What message?" Rock Man asked while looking rather surprised.

"Installation 05 is about to fire. Better go find shelter."

"HUH? That's the message?" Rock Man looked puzzled.

"Indeed." Victor confirmed.

"Guess there's a catch to it…" Netto brought the right hand to his chin and looked thoughtful.

"There has to." Enzan muttered.

"But there could thousands of "Installation 05" anywhere in the world, Enzan – sama, sir." Blues warned.

"With this we take our leave. Do not try to follow us, Ijuuin – kun, because it will be something vain. So long, gentlemen, so long."

"See ya."

Agoras walked away while humming a tune and both Enzan and Netto looked at the snoring Hinoken.

"Guess we should call the police."

"I'll do that. Just don't be surprised if I'm out of reach in the weekend: one of those might've come to challenge me."

"Okay."

"Be careful, Blues."

"I will."

Netto reunited with the group: the girls were still scolding Dekao who tried to play the strong but failed.

"…hero of the whole academy!"

"Come on! Hero? You're seeing too much manly _anime_." Meiru icily corrected him.

"I don't need to be told what to do!" He snapped back.

"Ah? Then what's homework for?" She questioned.

"To kill your brain!" He grumbled.

"_How_ did you make it to 2nd grade like that?" Yaito looked rather skeptical of the whole deal.

"Using my muscle!" He boasted.

"No. More like resorting to a tutor." Meiru corrected.

"Netto! Defend me! I'm being bullied!"

"That's not bullying. That's just skepticism. There's no law forbidding anyone from being skeptical, Dekao."

"You moron!"

"I'm going home."

"I'm going too! I don't want to tag with this compulsive liar." Meiru scoffed.

"A _lady_ had better watch after herself!" Yaito muttered.

They headed away leaving Dekao to curse into the air: a patrol car parked nearby and two policemen picked the still snoring Hinoken to handcuff him and place him onboard the car: Enzan watched them leave and then headed down the street while thinking about something.

_Installation 05 is about to fire. Better go look for shelter… How can an installation "fire"? Unless it means an AAC system or an underground missile silo… And where's the shelter? The Metro? A bunker? The basement of a house? Maybe Agoras interpreted it as having a meaning for Hikari but I guess the real target was me. And it's a crafted joke by Kage to laugh at my efforts. Yeah. The face on Hikari was the true thing: he didn't have the least remote idea of what he meant._

"You looked troubled, Enzan – sama, sir."

"Yeah. I am. Nothing is easy in this affair and Kage's figure makes honor to his name by slipping through the cracks and corners without any of us noticing it at all… Heck! He even showed up on the garage of the Net Police's HQ and placed stickers with his organization's emblem all over the patrol cars before slipping out and vanishing."

"I know, sir… The security systems had been frozen by inserting a self-replicating program which would try to take all processing power to execute all of its copies…"

"And the guy had plastic gloves on so he didn't leave any fingerprints behind either: I'm sure that former double agent involved in some Yakuza war or another, Keitai Denwa, is behind that."

"It sounds possible, sir."

"And I'm starting to think that _Purgatory_ and Zero are the true key pillars of their schemes yet they're protecting the info by not telling anyone else about what it is or letting out any hints… How can we hope to progress like that? The only thing we know is their members and how many Navis they currently have but we've been beating around the bush ever since our first run-in with them in January…"

"Sadly… Such is the case, sir… Hmmm? The auto-phone, sir…"

"Patch it through."

"Roger, sir."

"Look, Boss! The carriage got into the siding!" A voice exclaimed while sounding relieved.

"Yeah. But… How will it stop?" The other voice wondered.

"Oh! At the end of these sidings there's always something to stop them, ya know!" The first man sounded like he was shrugging.

"SPLASH!"

"You were right, yeah… At the end of the track there's the harbor's water, you nitwit!" The second man growled.

"Calm down, calm down, there's no danger… I'm an expert at fishing dried codfish! Huh! I bother to save ya and I get this… The world's full of mean people~!"

"Huh? Who are you?" Enzan stopped, puzzled.

"Heh, heh, heh. The Trio of BM, NM & VM strike back?"

"HUH? What was that?" Enzan asked while looking taken aback.

"Heh! I thought you knew my voice pretty well by now, Ijuuin Enzan and Blues!" The voice taunted.

"Damn it. Video Man."

"You're coming for us in the weekend?" Enzan tried to guess.

"That depends on what the masters decide, see."

"That's my motto too." Burner Man joined the chatter.

"Shah, shah, shah! Wanna have a pumping of hallucinations? Nyah, hah, hah, hah!" Needle Man laughed.

"I'll defeat each and every one of you!"

"Come anytime! Heh, heh, heh."

"Heh! Now that the granny's guard is down I've got a chance… The inheritance is mine!"

"How beautiful! An "orquideus fragantus"… I don't know how they can grow atop these ugly "cactus borriquerus", anyway. Besides that, they're poisonous… The one who gets even one of those needles stabbed into them will suffer stinging for months!"

"And the guy ran into the cactus because he was coming up from behind and didn't notice it until it was too late?" Enzan guessed.

"Correct! Heh, heh, heh. And you better not begin "dancing" with a local guy while being bare-footed 'cause the guy was trying to crush a scorpion and not dancing: F, the Boss, got stung by it!" Video Man sneered and sounded pretty amused.

"Hmpf. What stupid humor."

"Well! The guys at the base like it: not my problem."

"Let's go back already. I wanna heat up for the weekend."

"Shah, shah, sha~h! See ya~!"

The line went dead and Enzan cursed under his breath as he placed the PET on the arm-strap and punched a street light as if to vent out his bad mood: his eyes narrowed and he looked more dangerous than he'd done ever before.

"Get ready, you punks. This ends this weekend."

"Eh, Enzan – sama, but…" Blues argued.

"I'll beat them until there's nothing left standing!" He growled.

"I was afraid of it… He's gotten obsessed and will not listen to me: it's impossible to take them down just like that. This time it's outside of our power… And if Enzan – sama doesn't realize that then we'll be in trouble, really." Blues grimly muttered.

"Stick out your necks, you punks! Ijuuin Enzan will cut all of them and place your heads atop stakes! I'll win!"


	25. Chapter 25: Simultaneous chaos

**Chapter 25: Simultaneous Chaos**

11:11 AM (Japan Time), Saturday May the 2nd…

"… Alright. You six have been chosen… You know your targets so go on ahead and fight until either of the two is unable to move anymore. Yet your goal is not to delete them."

"ROGER!"

"Get it, guys? Go beat 'em!"

"ROGER!"

Six Navis had been standing in front of a podium atop which Slur and Legato were giving out commands: the other Navis looked on from nearby and glanced at the currently blackened six holographic screens which would obviously display the battles.

"Heh, heh, heh. Four of those guys are never-before-seen types but the fith one is a strong guy." Burner Man chuckled.

"Shah, shah, shah! They obviously picked competent guys." Needle Man told them.

"I'll use these feedback data to compose a good movie!" Video Man grinned as he rubbed his chin.

"This looks promising, yessir…" Dark Man chuckled.

"Ki, ki, ki… So it does…" Shade Man looked eager.

"Hmpf… They'll be met with big trouble…" Cosmo Man added while forming a smug smile.

"Kick their asses." Lily giggled.

"Beat 'em all." Tom snickered.

"Have fun, naughty boys." Sandra encouraged.

"Strategy: Start!"

"HOORAY!"

11:22 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Damn it. This guy's too fast and by the time I get a lock on them they strike me with a lot of power!"

"Nyah, hah, hah, ha~h! Surprised? I'm Killer Man: assassin for hire and I'm gonna delete ya 'cause that's my job? There's no beating the great me's speed, no! Festival, bloody festival! Nyah, hah, hah! Eat this one for a change! Death Killer Beam!"

Search Man was fighting a Net Navi named Killer Man.

Killer Man appealed as being taller than Search Man: he was shaped like an _oni_ from Japanese folklore given how his "skin" was just combusting grayish flames: his main body was shaped like a sphere colored purple, and having a green eye with red edges drawn on the chest: the lower half of it was colored gray.

His face's skin was red in color while the edges of his face were colored purple: he had normal eyes with black shapes drawn below them and teeth but a maniac smile was drawn upon his face: part of his "hair" scaled down to form a nose and two small red "horns" emerged from the top of his head.

His emblem was that same green eye set against a white background: his shoulders had two curved axe-like formations attached to them and he carried three purple armlets over his forearms and wrists interconnected by a metallic slabs chain.

His legs had four circle-shaped pieces of armor starting at the hips and stopping around knee which progressively decreased in height on each leg: his feet were curved-shaped blades with two reddish curved lines drawn on their surface: the upper one was shorter in height than the lower one.

He carried a scythe with a black stick and red body with a purple-edged green eye set on the center of its surface.

To sum it up: he looked like the Grim Reaper himself and gave off a sinister vibe.

"Huh! Scope Gun! Satellite Ray! Search Grenades!"

"Hell's Sickle!"

"What!"

Search Man attack at once with three of his techniques but Killer Man didn't seem to mind them: he then swung his scythe across the air and shot an slice of energy towards Search Man which he avoided by ducking but then got hit by a beam of energy shot from the chest's "eye" drawing: the blast sent him flying and he began to pant as he stood up again only for Killer Man to ram into him with the left shoulder and start a close-quarters fight by ramming and kicking Search Man who tried to counter.

"Battle Chip, Samurai Sword! Slot In!"

"Samurai Sword! Hrah!"

"Damn it!"

Search Man managed to open up a wound by slashing across Killer Man's chest where his drawing was located at: he cursed and stepped back only to rush on forward while brandishing the scythe.

"DIE~!"

"Scope Gun!"

"Mugro~h!"

The attack, shot at close-quarters, pierced his body through the wound and this time he did collapse on the ground while clutching the wound: Search Man then placed the muzzle on his forehead.

"The end."

"I do not think so, sinner."

The purple gateway formed on Killer Man's feet and he was sucked inside of it while Slur suddenly emerged and drew a thin yellow sword which she wielded with the right hand as it was a real sword: she hit Search Man with it and he was electrocuted before he collapsed: she grinned…

11:33 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Thunderbolt!"

"Great Sword!"

"Damn it! This guy's too strong!"

"Sword Man won't fall so easily! Hum!"

Thunder Man's opponent turned out to be a Net Navi by the name of Sword Man.

He happened to over a meter and ninety tall: his main body was colored white and had a hexagonal form: two brownish metallic bands crossed the chest and formed a pyramid right in the middle, above and below the center section of the band, colored black.

His head was shaped like a pyramidal sword's hilt placed on its sheath: the edges were red with two white spots at end of the upper edge: a vertical metallic white piece with a round grayish spot was set over the forehead and a brown handle emerged from atop the head: his face lacked a nose, had a thin mouth and his eyes were yellow irises sans pupils.

His emblem was a simple close-up of a sword's blade which aimed upwards and set against a brownish background.

His shoulders were white spheroids with two white circle-shaped pieces covering the forearms and the segment below the shoulder: they lacked elbows.

The wrists had square brown armor over them and the hands' skin was black: he also carried a short sword with a brown hilt on his right hand.

His body below the torso had a pyramidal piece pointing downwards and a central sword's blade emerged running down the back.

Another two "heads" were set adjacent to the main one with their blades aiming SE and SW respectively: one had a blue edge and green eyes while the other had a yellow edge and small square eyes.

In short: he looked like a sword's incarnation.

"Sword Press!"

"Thunderbolt!"

Sword Man jumped into the air and landed down while hitting the ground with the edge of his body's blade: a shockwave spread from the descent point and spread around while the "Thunderbolt" attack from Thunder Man got nullified because Sword Man used the small sword he carried on his right hand as a lightning rod.

"Shit. We won't get anywhere like this."

"Mwah, hah, hah! Starting to realize your own powerlessness? Go, my brethren! Sonic Blade! Sword Press! Great Sword!"

The yellow "head" replaced the red one and swung the blade across the air to produce a sonic attack: the red "head" returned and jumped to land down and create another shockwave while the blue "head" attacked directly with the sword: Thunder Man panted.

"Mwah, hah, hah! We are victorious!"

"Not so fast you punks… Program Advance! Hi – Cannon, Triple Slot In! Giga Cannon! Go, Thunder Man!"

"EAT THIS!"

"I-impossible…! Mugro~h!"

"I shall commend you."

Slur emerged from the purple gateway in the ground and looked at the raw data which was all that was left of Sword Man: Thunder Man was crouching in the ground and panting while Slur looked slightly amused.

"This criminal was too strong to be locked up so easily so we had you battle him to get rid of him and make a favor to society. Not many can stand up to such strength. That is why we picked you. Reflect."

"Heck… So we got used…" Raoul grumbled.

"W-well! I think it could've been worse…"

11:44 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hmpf! They lured me out here and they want a fight… I'll give them one! Come!"

"Rolling Slasher! Slash Man won't lose!"

Colonel was fighting against the Net Navi known as Slash Man.

He was a "humanoid" design Net Navi whose height struck as being shorter than Colonel's: his upper body's color palette was lush green plus a vertical red stripe crossing through it.

His face's skin looked "human" enough yet his eyes lacked irises and were colored black: green armor protected the head and two claw-like shapes were set on both sides of it: he had a small red triangle drawn upon his chin, too.

His emblem's design was elaborated (a white character looking like the Alphabet letter "L" turned 90º to the right and extending almost the whole length of it, a tear-shaped object close to the center and another drawing which looked like a small "V" character) and its background was mere black.

His shoulders also had claw-like shapes set over them and armor covered the whole of his arms: the wrists were colored red and three sharp claws replaced his hands: they looked ready to cut through anything.

He had a small space between the upper armor and the lower body colored black: his legs were covered in thin armor which looked rather reminiscent of pants with yellow patterns running down the sides after starting on the waist: the front edge of his feet had a slight piece of black armor while the rest of them were unprotected.

"Slash! I'll slice you up before you can count ten."

"That's my motto. Colonel Cannon!"

"Uack! Shit! Rolling Slasher!"

"Useless. Screen Divide!"

"Whack! You lowlife~!"

"Hmpf."

Slash Man had tried to spin upon his axis and then shoot on forward to attack Colonel but he had no real trouble intercepting his attacks leading to Slash Man's increasing anger.

"Triple Edge!"

He formed three _kunai_ which flew towards Colonel from different heights followed by Slash Man jumping across the air and trying to hit Colonel with his claws but Colonel formed another "Screen Divide" to get rid of the _kunai_ and easily blocked his claws with the sword.

"Che! I won't lose! I'll make of you my 50th corpse!"

"50th! You're a serial assassin, then?" Colonel gasped.

"Surprised, fat ass? One of the best! I act alone unlike that Killer Man guy who has an Operator somewhere. But I'm independent! I'll delete ya and get a juicy reward!" He smugly announced.

"It'll be the other way around."

"Wha~t? Ya wanna steal the great me's money?" He grumbled.

"No. You're the one who's going to be deleted. Program Advance! Navi Scout, Shirahadori, Kawarimi! Slot In! Bodyguard!"

"DIE~!"

Slash Man did manage to land a hit on Colonel but he was replaced by a wooden log as he jumped into the air and bombarded Slash Man with _shuriken_ one after the other: he landed back, threw his cloak at Slash Man and then drove his sword into the chest of Slash Man: he roared and was deleted while Colonel retrieved his cloak.

"Shadow Man's Program Advance was useful." He merely muttered.

"Yeah… Laika and Raoul are done with their fights along with us so Ijuuin Meijin and Dingo are left…"

11:55 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Double Go-Round!"

"Crazy Locomotive! Outta the way~! Charge Man's gonna run ya over and kick ya outta the tracks!"

"Fuck."

The Navi who had been sent to try to defeat Punk was named Charge Man and he had a curious design to him.

To begin with, his overall height was under a meter and fifty but there was a very important reason for that: he was built like a steam locomotive colored crimson: the front part of it had his green eyes with black irises set on them plus a nose-like shape: he had no mouth, tough.

Two cylindrical shoulders with a grey cover at their end sprouted from the sides and had pincer-like objects instead of hands at the end of his forearms.

A round yellow emblem which was four quarters of circle plus a round spot was set above his armored forehead.

Overall, he didn't look too "deadly" or "strong" given his short height and length.

He also had some carriages attached behind him colored black and having the white skull and crossbones drawn into them.

He currently was running towards Punk who barely had time to jump into the air to dodge but Charge Man turned around faster than one would expect of him.

"Volcano Charge!"

He shot some hot coal from the chimney exhaust which landed on Punk and he yelped from the burning sensation: he got rammed by Charge Man and landed, hard, on the ground: groaning, he managed to stand up and try to counter.

"Mad Roller!"

"Crazy Locomotive!"

Both clashed in the middle of their paths and began to push against each other while sparks resulting of the friction of metal and metal jumped all around them.

"Nugro~h!"

"Puwro~h!"

Punk managed to climb over the surface of Charge Man's "face" and then ran over his body before landing behind him and quickly resuming his normal form to lift him up and then throw him against the slope of a tall rocky hill: Charge Man bounced off it and ended up with the wheels upwards thus forcing him to use his arms to get into normal position yet Punk used that window to attack him with the "Mad Roller" attack and send him flying: Charge Man landed hard in the ground again and groaned as Punk continued on his serial attacks giving him no break: Charge Man got annoyed and tried to run into Punk by using his "Crazy Locomotive" attack but Punk could bounce around and dodge all of his attacks: Charge Man growled in growing frustration.

"Damn it! I'm gonna blow ya up and get money!"

"That won't do." Meijin merely said.

"Oh yeah! I hate guys who do it for money 'cause they're not real macho guys! Take this! Double Go-Round! Shield and Chain!"

"What!"

Punk's shoulder disks cut some of Charge Man's wheels and then he used the "Chain" to coil it around his body and repeatedly slam him against the ground until he was rendered incapable of battling.

"Good! We'll close this guy up: one eyesore less." Meijin smiled.

"I've got the feelin' they wanted us to do this." Punk grumbled.

"Could be, yeah. But we've won: that's what matters."

"Oh yeah!"

12:05 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Tomahawk Swing!"

"Make Shadow!"

"Wha! What's that?"

"Hah, hah, hah, ha~h! Spark Man – sama's recycling! Trash will fuse with trash and create more trash and there I come in: I set it on fire to dispose of it! Nyah, hah, hah!"

Tomahawk Man was having a hard time with a jerk named Spark Man who'd come from who knew where to fight him.

Spark Man could be close to a meter and seventy tall but was rather massive in body shape.

A slightly shorter in diameter dome-like shape formed over his upper body and below the head: the head was shaped like a circle and had orange armor over it plus a small tooth-like piece forming beneath the forehead and extending until the spot where a person's nose would be at.

His eyes' irises were red in color and he had no visible mouth: the head also had a metallic piece shaped like the "L" character turned 90º to the right so as to aim northwards.

His main body was shaped like a really thick disc and colored orange with two yellow bands plus three layers of metallic armor running down the sides: a hollow circular line spread across the front face of it while having two green bulb-like objects set on it plus his emblem which were two yellow lances crossing each other and set over a navy blue - colored background.

His shoulders were orange-colored spheroids and his arms were colored navy blue: two orange cylinders were placed there the hands would be at thus allowing him to carry large metallic spears emerging from the front and short ones from the rear of each cylinder: the outwards-facing sides of the cylinders had yellow curved bands spanning their total length set on them.

The lower body was colored navy blue plus blue spheroids placed where the ankles would be at with legs spreading from them until the knees, where the boots began: a small yellow-colored piece which was reminiscent of the "L" character turned 90º to the left: it had a small navy blue dot set close to the upper edge of it.

His boots were colored orange and ended in round platform-like formations: the central band of it was colored yellow with three green-colored drawings starting at the upper edge and spanning until the lower edge: the disc-shaped platform-like feet were decorated with a small navy blue dot set on the front of them.

He looked menacing and confident at the same time.

He'd currently formed a "substantiated" _shadow_ of Tomahawk Man with all colors on it being just black and white: the enemy attacked Tomahawk Man and he was trying to held it at bay but it was being rather relentless on its attack: Tomahawk Man was swearing under his breath by now while Spark Man laughed.

"Time to take the trash out! Spark Whip!"

"Totem – sama! Meteors!"

"Wha~t? Uwa~h! You fucker!"

The "totem – sama" showed up and made meteors rain down on Spark Man's position just as he'd intercrossed his lances and begun to build up electricity: Tomahawk Man then jumped into the air and delivered a clean slash which cut through the imitation: Spark Man growled and stepped back.

"Spark Ball!"

Some spheroids with yellow voltage conversion antennae colored orange and having a small circle in the middle formed and assumed positions in the air while emitting electricity but Tomahawk Man merely smiled as green energy formed a "shell" around him: Spark Man looked like he couldn't believe what he was seeing but before he could attack he got showered by meteors again.

"Elec – types are weak to Wood – Types! You _baka_!"

"You fucker!" He cursed.

"Come, ugly nose."

"Spark Whip!"

"Too bad. It didn't make any difference."

"Impossible! The great me are a terrifically powerful mercenary! I can't fail here! I'll bring your head to the _Danna_! My word!" He cursed as he formed a twitch over his right eye.

"Oho. My _Danna_ came, see." He grinned as he glanced at the "sky" and looked relieved.

"What!" He gasped and looked upwards.

"Gotcha. Tomahawk Air Raid! Tomahawk Swing!"

"Fuck you!"

Tomahawk Man used the distraction to throw his tomahawk at the enemy slicing off the tips of his lances and then delivering a blow to the chest emblem: Spark Man roared and his electricity began to overflow in a mad manner: Tomahawk Man then made his next attack cleave the guy's head armor and he collapsed into the ground before being deleted: Tomahawk Man sighed in relief.

"So, young one. You have proven your strength. Only one shall remain by now but this one will be a strong opponent suitable for the one chosen by Serenade." Slur's voice boomed out.

"Yikes. There it comes again… That tone of omnipresence and overwhelming power…!" Tomahawk Man gasped.

"You recognize my power and my presence. That is good. As long as you do not try to become an eyesore then nothing shall happen to you yet you have committed sins as well. Think about them. Farewell".

"Phew! They're gone… I just felt my whole body freeze over…"

12:15 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Shit. This guy again."

"Heh, heh, heh… Such is Fate!"

"Fate and whatever."

"You haven't changed."

"That's my motto."

"Let us continue!"

"Neo Variable Sword!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Ice Stage! Ice Tower!"

"Fuck. Freeze Man _again_!"

Blues' opponent and the last one of the day happened to be a resurrected Freeze Man: he kept on having that "freezing" presence to him given how all surroundings around him froze and he also had his classical smug smile drawn across his face.

"Been a while since the battle onboard the _SS Queen Ocean_… We fell there but it matters not because our name has been engraved in history forever! And now I have another opportunity in life thanks to the almighty and great Slur – sama! Glory to Golden Star, I say! Besides, all of the others onboard the ship back then were not weak but they were just cannon fodder to stall for time… Heh, heh, heh. Mountain Spear! Be defeated, Blues!" He chuckled.

Blues jumped into the air and deflected the "Mountain Spears" to then try to hit Freeze Man but he folded his arms and formed his shell of ice with spears protruding out of it: Blues broke one off and tried to break through the shell only for a new spear to form on his feet and quickly rise upwards dragging him along and pushing him back into the ground.

"Icicle Fall!"

"Damn it all."

Blues barely managed to roll across the iced floor and dodge the rain of icicles which rained down around the spot he'd been at: he managed to stand on his feet but then spotted that Freeze Man wasn't in the same spot as before anymore: the guy suddenly appeared behind him and gripped his head with the right hand to start encompassing Blues on ice as he lifted him off the ground.

"Be frozen for all eternity!"

"Battle Chip, Salamander! Slot In!"

"What! The "Salamander", you say!" He gasped.

"EAT THIS!"

"MUGRA~H! T-TACTICAL… WITHDRAWAL…!"

Blues formed flames around him to melt the ice and Freeze Man's right hand by extension: Freeze Man recoiled while trying to regenerate the hand but then the shape of a dragon formed around Blues as he jumped skywards and crashed down on the ground atop Freeze Man: the heat's explosion and expansion along with the vicious flames which leapt across his body forced him to escape while all ice around the area was melted down: Blues sighed in relief.

"We won… somehow. But those were cannon fodder sent to give us the feeling that we could easily win over them. Freeze Man was a different tale, though, because they intend to make of him a full-time member to increase their numbers… And we barely passed the test…" Blues deduced.

"Yeah, I know… Now I feel like I should be more cool-headed before jumping into the fray…"

"Maybe you need a bag of Antarctic ice over your head to keep it cooled, Ijuuin – kun?" Oda suddenly asked on the background.

"No. And that's definitive." Enzan settled with a growl.

"At times like these Uncle Merton would rather…"

"Golden Star… This isn't over! Not yet!"


	26. Chapter 26: Wrong place wrong time

**Chapter 26: Wrong place wrong time**

18:20 PM (Japan Time), Monday May the 25th…

"… Yo. Boss. Been a while."

"Miquel – kun! Glad that you dropped by… You see… The Net Police guys have returned to their usual routing of "waiting for something to happen" yet Ijuuin Enzan is not giving up: he's been obsessed into trying to decipher that message you gave Hikari Netto through Joel – kun. Besides that… Did the examinations go fine enough? The course ends in June the 19th, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. It's timed to end at the same time a normal school course ends so I've just had the preliminary exams and the next two weeks will be busy with preparing the final exams."

"It must've been lonely around here sans us… We did see the footage of the six-way-attack, Legato… Are you alright?"

"I am, Andy – kun. I'm a boulder, ya know."

"Heh. Catchy."

Kage had come to visit _Noir_ (being disguised with his black cloth) on his Golden Star HQ office room: _Noir_ sounded glad to see him again as Kage sat down on a chair: Andy shook hands with Legato, who'd been standing to _Noir_'s right as if being a bodyguard.

"Some juice?" _Noir_ offered.

"Apple."

"Alright. Here you have."

"Thanks, Boss. Cheers!"

"By the way… Could I ask of you to do a little thing?"

"What?"

_Noir_ suddenly became quiet and made some gestures to Legato who drew a field detector: he began to check the outer walls.

"… Nothing, sir."

"Good. I don't want Suzuki – san to hear this one thing. Well. I've procured some documents to send an agent to the Waterworks so as to install a device which will allow their server to be scanned by Zero's terminals as well and to filter dangerous traffic towards it… Could you do it? Joel – kun is busy with another investigation and Zarashe – kun is doing something along with Bertha – san. The snipers are out of the question too and so are the Navis… Suzuki – san is no good either because we don't want them to spoil the surprise… I'd gone myself but I'm feeling tired as of late because I've been working like Hell in _Purgatory_ which is over 90% complete and Zero's initial testing simulations…" _Noir_ told Kage.

"Point is: I gotta go. Fine. I can go right now."

"Pick that sports bag over there because it has the maintenance uniform you need: besides, they'll only glance at the documents and the ID before allowing you in… They're not taking security very highly and thus I picked that place given such criteria… I made it look like you've been learning for some years and they sent you to check it out but you'll be in contact with a _senpai_ to make sure you're not gonna screw it up." He detailed.

"Alright. I go, place that, and head back. I gotta leave no trace of our presence there or they'll begin to sniff around." Kage summed up.

"Yeah. But the device itself looks like an extra system for backup purposes so they won't think it's dangerous… They'll rather look for something in the Cyber World…"

"Excellent. Let's go, Andy. I'll drop by tomorrow 'cause I wanna have a better chat with ya before tackling on the exams… See ya round Lucky Corner, Boss." Kage grinned.

"Take care, Legato. I'll later tell you how it felt to take part in a little "sabotage" of a major Government facility…" Andy snickered and sounded amused.

"I'll be waiting to hear it." Legato replied.

"_Good luck_."

18:50 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Alright, so you're the Government inspector… And your _senpai_ will be monitoring you… No trouble, then… Go to the water filtering systems and have a look at them: we're still disputing if we should replace Filter 4-D or not… You may help us settle that."

"Yes, sir. I shall get to work immediately, sir."

"Good. Go."

"Thank you, sir."

Kage (disguised as a technician by wearing blue overalls and boots along with a cap while having removed his bandana and sunglasses) had been speaking with a Waterworks official before being given the go-ahead: he walked up a set of stairs while carrying a tool-box and then opened a door into the room with the huge water filtering machines and they control panels: Kage headed for the room's furthest console and examined it before crouching and taking out a folded paper from his trousers' right pocket which contained a set of blueprints: Andy projected with the hologram and looked at them too.

"Alright. I gotta remove the SE panel because there's nothing inside of it and connect four wires: the rest will work on its own. I then replace the panel, place the screws on its place and I'm done with it. It should be over in less than 30 minutes… I'll then take some notes and say that I'll forward the results after going through the usual bureaucracy. By then they'll have forgotten all about me and we'll be alright." He grinned.

"Heh. Boss is a genius, yessir." Andy grinned.

Kage got to work by using a screwdriver which he used to remove the screws: he then took the cover out and examined the cavity which looked ready to insert something there: he picked a sealed metallic box with three wires colored red, green and blue emerging from its left and inserted it on place before connecting the wires using the other ones coming out from inside of the console: he turned on a switch and a green-colored LED turned on.

"Good. Now the system will synch with the Waterworks server and since it has the passwords and all there'll be nothing noticeable. Besides, this thing's software is just there to listen in and intercept hostile data like Viruses and such." He whispered.

"Perfect. That was fast. Let's go for the second phase."

"Alright, _Danna_." He joked.

"Heh. Someday I'll be the _danna_, yeah."

"Wanna make a couple with Akemi?" He teased.

"Come on." He rolled his eyes.

"That means "yeah" last time I checked." He teased next.

"No! I don't intend to! Akemi – san is my senior!" He blushed and began to sound annoyed as he whispered his reply to Kage.

"Or do you want Rock Man's pink friend?"

"Roll – san? Oh no! That's Rock Man's stuff. I don't want to get in the way of that 'cause they're both long-time friends."

"Lily?"

"Lily – san? No way." He settled.

"Sandra?"

"Beta X got hooked by Sandra – san already so drop it and let's finish this job already, Operator." He fumed.

"Sure, sure, Mr. Absolute."

"Jeez."

"Alright! That was the last screw… Now let's go check Mr. Filtering Filter of Filters and let's hope it ain't a profanity filter."

"_When_ did your sense of humor turn this crazy? Did Video Man and company have something to do with it or WHAT? That humor is just so literal… so crazy!" Andy complained.

"Ask them." Kage replied.

He accessed a console's data with the PET and began to look at photos of a large filter: he rubbed his chin and then began to compare them with others filters.

"Hmmm… It has degraded by 14.8% since its installation 6 years ago so it's holding out pretty well yet it could be dangerous… I'd rather say they should replace it or we'll have a bad surprise one day." He settled after a while.

"Alright. Let's finish checking with the other machines and head home already."

"…true, that kick straight into the goal was cool! You should've seen it, Ice Man!"

"Guess so, desu…"

"Oh crap." Kage gasped.

"I know that voice." Andy gasped.

"Quick! Behind this machine!"

"Y-yeah!"

Both quickly hid behind the bulk of a machine and glanced at the point where the room turned to orient itself northwards: voices were coming from there.

"Hikawa Tooru – kun, of B Class…! I'd forgotten his father is the director of his facility!" Kage muttered.

"And that's his Navi Ice Man… Guess I should go back inside the PET: hide it on the pocket, pretend to be working, pick the tool-box and head out ASAP… We'll tell the employee about the filter, get into the car and we get away full speed…" Andy whispered a course of action.

The aforementioned Hikawa Tooru came into view: he was a young man about Kage's age who might five or six centimeters shorter in height than him.

He had short and combed brown chestnut hair and chestnut brownish irises as well.

Today he wore the typical middle school uniform and looked animated as he held a bluish Link PET with the drawing of a snow flake against a blue background as emblem and talked with the Navi named Ice Man.

Ice Man seemed to be barely one meter and forty tall: he wore _Eskimo_ – like clothes colored lush green and forest green: his gloves were colored brown and so were his boots.

His eyes were brown and he had a small nose: two patterns colored pink and shaped like seashells: his head was surrounded by the parka's own hood as if to shield it from the cold.

He carried a small backpack colored brown and with his emblem drawn into it as well.

"Hmmm? Whose tool-box is this?"

"M-mine." Kage came out after having hid his PET and lowering the cap to try to hide his face.

"Oh. The Government Inspector…? Eh… No offense, but…"

"Newbie. _Senpai_ telling me." He quickly replied.

"A-alright. I am sorry, I should've asked… I won't get the in the way. Let's go elsewhere, Ice Man."

"Roger, desu."

Kage began to type into a console while giving him the back but Hikawa suddenly halted as he was about to head back: he'd frowned and he now turned around to spot how the lower half of Kage's PET was coming out of his right pocket: he inwardly gasped and made the "silence" sign to Ice Man as he silently tip-toed until he reached him and got a better look at the PET: he then studied the hair which was visible and seemed to realize who he was.

"Eh… Kage – kun?"

"Yikes!" He gasped.

"Is that you?"

"W-wrong person." He improved a foreign accent.

"There's only one person I know with such a PET." He argued.

"F-fashion." He quickly replied.

"Kage – kun: you can't fool me. Not even 11 months after we last saw each other. What happened to you? Hikari – kun kept on saying you'd gotten involved in some organization or another…"

"Wrong person!" He insisted.

"Come on. I'm not dumb."

"Wrong p…!"

Hikawa suddenly picked his PET and he instinctively turned around to catch it back but in doing so Hikawa could see his face and Kage realized too late he'd fallen for the trick.

"Are you gonna kept on pretending now?" He asked.

"Crap." He muttered under his breath.

"What are you doing here? Why are you feigning to be a Government Inspector?"

"Go home." He snapped back.

"Not until you tell us what's going on."

"Ask Hikari – kun! I wasn't here! At all!" He growled.

"What's with you? You used to be nicer."

"People change, Hikawa – kun! Now GO HOME!"

"You're not my dad." Hikawa was being stubborn.

"Fuck! I'm not doing anything bad for the Waterworks! This is for the sake of the Waterworks' stability and security! GO HOME!"

"I won't."

"By all the… Andy! What do I do NOW, huh?"

"W-well… That's…"

"Gimme an idea! With this guy around the whole point of the mission will go ashtray!" He whispered.

"Hum…"

"Well?"

"I'm thinking!" Andy protested.

"Aren't Navis supposed to think way faster than humans? You're computer programs after all!" He snapped.

"I know that! But we can't form plans out of air! Not even the best military minds can think of a strategy on the field!" Andy defended himself.

"Hey… What's that bulky thing there, in the tool-box?"

"That bulky thing…? Eh… A boomerang!" He improved.

"When did you become such a liar?" Hikawa didn't fall for it.

"This is for your good, man! GO HOME!"

Hikawa played deaf and picked the bulk covered by a handkerchief which turned out to be Kage's own Beretta M92F customized with the silencer included: it had the initials "KM" written on its grip's left side using golden-colored paint.

"A gun! How can you go around with a gun? You're not gonna tell me you're in the Yakuza!" He gasped.

"No, damn it! That's a tranquilizer model! It shoots out darts with a sleeping drug! We don't kill: we only seek to bring stability to society which is needed nowadays! End of the tale!"

"I guess I should call the police because I don't like your behavior and you're carrying a gun in an illegal manner."

"Damn it! You've left me no other choice…!"

He suddenly yanked the gun from Hikawa's hands, removed the safety and shot a dart at his right knee: Hikawa gasped and immediately became sluggish before collapsing on the ground: Kage quickly picked his PET and switched it off.

"Lovely. Now what, Mr. Anderson?" He grumbled.

"Well. We came here walking from the parking where we left the black Toyota at so… We could use a "Dimensional Converter" and go to _Purgatory_ where we can bring Boss and try to negotiate with this guy into reaching some deal…" Andy suggested.

"Sounds like a half-plan but whatever…"

"Tell the guys that you're done with firstly."

"Yeah, I know. You stay here and keep an eye out for the guy while I go speak with them… Let's hope his father thinks he's still wandering around and takes a while to notice… It's inevitable that he'll notice the fact but well…" Kage sighed.

He left the PET on the ground to allow for Andy's life-sized hologram to come out while Kage picked his tool-box and closed it before heading into the small control room.

"My _senpai_ says that the filter you mentioned could be a danger if left as it is, and the new regulation mandates that they should be replaced every five years so you're one late with this, sir." He calmly reported while trying to sound polite.

"Oh man. Now we'll get a scolding." One technician groaned.

"I apologize."

"No. It's not your fault, lad. I knew we should've done something about that thing before but we've been way too lazy…"

"Alright, sir. I'll be leaving, sir."

"Sure, sure. Thanks for the advice, anyway."

Kage hurried back to the room and picked Hikawa plus the tool-box: he headed out through a door and down some stairs into a side alley where he stopped: Andy projected and nodded.

"Starting up "Dimensional Converter"…"

A "hole" of yellowish energy formed in the ground and one of those "Dimensional Converters" emerged from within it while it began to emit its characteristic booting up sound.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Activation!"

The same thing which had happened in the Akihara City Hotel months ago repeated: a white circle of light formed at their feet and the light expanded in the form of a column while they bodies were slowly "erased" by the white light until nothing remained except for the machine: the column became thinner and thinner until nothing was left: the machine shut down and retreated into the "hole" it'd opened: once all of its length had come inside the "hole" closed as well thus leaving no trace of its presence there.

"… Tooru? Oi! Tooru? Are you around here? Answer me! Why did you shut down your PET? Tooru?"

A man on his 40s or 50s wearing the Waterworks' blue overalls and having brown hair and irises plus some beard walked into the alley while looking around: the resemblance to Hikawa was unmistakable so there was no doubt that it was his father.

"Where'd you go to, you and Ice Man? Huh?"

He spotted something on the ground and hurried to pick it up: the object turned out to be the wallet of Hikawa Jr. which had fallen there and was open: Hikawa Sr. gasped and looked around.

"What a thing to happen…! Tooru's been abducted…? But… Why? And by whom? I've got to contact the police! Yet… There are no car tracks or smell of car here… Someone must've seen a car speeding away from this spot so… Anyway! Contacting the police is first! Tooru… I'll get you back sane and safe…! That's my duty as your father…!"


	27. Chapter 27: Negotations

**Chapter 27: Negotiations**

20:20 PM (Japan Time), Monday May the 25th…

"…sorry for the mess but I got nervous and…!"

"Don't apologize. You did what had to be done."

"But now the whole point of the mission has gone ashtray, Boss!"

"Didn't I tell you that even if they looked for it they wouldn't find anything at all? Besides! All data is encrypted using advanced protocols. Not even Search Man can decode them on the spot…"

"So… He used to be a classmate of yours?"

"Yeah… I'd forgotten his father worked there and that he had the habit of dropping by so that they then drove home together."

"What a mess."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't mind it."

"Uh-unh… Huh… Where… am I…?"

Hikawa Jr. slowly regained consciousness: his sight was blurry and he felt rather dizzy as he stared at what he thought it was a metallic ground made of equally metallic tiles: he sluggishly tried to lift his head but his sight kept on being blurry.

"Huh… The Waterworks… I was there and… Ah…! The Government inspector… Kage – kun…! He had a gun and…! He shot me?"

His sight began to focus and he managed to distinguish some pipes and a control panel set in the steel wall in front of him about a meter across the room: he then realized he was standing upwards.

"Huh… Let's go look around and… What in the…?"

When he tried to step on forward he realized there were handcuffs on his wrists which had a chain connected to a metallic cylindrical column.

"What!"

He then looked at his body and blushed upon noticing how his upper shirt and lower shirt were gone thus leaving his upper body naked: he began to look around and realize the room was some kind of storage bay given the large steel crates piled a meter behind him: the light was produced by fluorescent tubes set in the ceiling and there was an armored door with a sealed porthole which obviously was the entrance and exit: it was slightly open allowing for him to hear some voices out in the corridor.

"Hey! Is there anyone there? I demand to know why I am being held here against my will! Oi!" He called out.

"Ah! He's awake… What should I do, Boss?"

"Let's go in together and try to negotiate…"

"Guess there's no other way around!"

"Just relax: all will go well."

Kage, _Noir_, Andy and Legato stepped into the room to Hikawa Jr.'s surprised: Kage sighed and pocketed his sunglasses.

"Alright, Hikawa – kun. I'm sorry for this but I got hysterical back there and I had to get outta the mess somewhat."

"What's going on around here?" Hikawa Jr. asked.

"Look. We're an organization named Golden Star. We seek to bring stability to society. We also want to protect it so I went to the Waterworks to install a system to filter any malware trying to attack the facility as well as keep hackers at bay." He summed up.

"But then it isn't Yakuza?"

"NO! We despise them! We're not criminals! We're just a gathering of people whom society has abandoned or rejected… People who had their opportunities to build their own careers denied… And there's nothing fanatical about it: we all come and go and have our own beliefs but the overall goal is to bring stability and security! Gotcha?"

"Calm down, Miquel – kun…" _Noir_ whispered.

"Sorry, Boss. I just hate these misconceptions."

"You're Andy, right…?" Hikawa Jr. asked him.

"Yeah. I'm Andy."

"But how can you be in the real world…? Oh wait! It's gotta be a life-sized hologram, right? Hikari – kun did say you'd developed those!"

"Ah. But he couldn't talk about a technology we've developed which is way better than any hologram… Copy Roids: robots which can copy a Navi's shape and allow for us to materialize." Andy explained.

He walked over to Hikawa Jr. and closed his right hand around his lower jaw as if to prove it: Hikawa Jr. gasped and Andy then stepped back to return to the position he was at before.

"Alright, Hikawa – kun… Look: we're going to get you home right now and you can tell the police but say that we've only built a new filtering system for their server… If they look for it they'll find it and they'll be able to check that it's the truth…"

"Wait a minute. What happened in the summer?"

"My fucking uncle of the Tea Party radicals tried to have me re-educated into being a Tea Party radical but I ran away from him and ended up in Houston… That's where I met Boss who gave me a chance to get away from that crazy man and return to Japan…"

"Yikes! I knew something was turning crazy in Chicago but I couldn't guess it'd come to those extremes…"

"It was like the 1930s, you know. All foreigners were frowned upon and they could suddenly forcefully bring you to police station to question why you were here, where you stayed at, who let you inside, when you were going back, if you were trying to attempt against "national hegemony" or "racial supremacy"… And all of that in Chicago! And what did the White House morons do? NOTHING! They were far more concerned with the Middle East that what was going on in their continent!"

"B-but that's a regression, isn't it?"

"Of course it is! Another reason I got outta there! All foreigners have left and the city's lost a lot of investment: luckily over 90% of local inhabitants are sick of the Mayor and the City Council and are organizing strikes and protests! Only some crazy idiots agree with it and don't make up even a 5% of the population! Just because some idiots turned crazy we're gonna risk the whole city's economy? This has had repercussions all along Illinois' territory and the adjacent states! We're talking about the _third_ most populous city in the whole of Ameroupe!" He exploded.

"Whoa! Cool it down, Miquel – kun!" _Noir_ tried to calm him down.

"Sorry, Boss. I must look like an idiot." He sighed.

"No, no… Eh… Hikawa – kun, you'll have to excuse him…"

"No, no… It's alright, _Noir_ – san… Anyone would explode after going through such an ugly experience…" Hikawa Jr. replied.

"By the way, he's Legato. My secretary."

"… Good body." He teased.

Hikawa Jr. blushed and looked at the ceiling while Kage seemed to get amused by Legato's comment: it'd been obviously intended to snap Kage out of his bad mood.

"So, Sakurai – san caught you?" Kage teased.

"Huh! Sakurai – san? No, no… Eh… That's… No."

"I guess not yet but I wouldn't be surprised if she set her eyes on you as a safe choice." He teased next.

"Oh man." He muttered.

"The reason I haven't joined your class again is because that asshole posted a search warrant saying I'd fled home with the complicity of some bought police force guys… I had to remain off the radar and Golden Star was the perfect place. I've been using a cyber tutor to keep on with this year's studies too." He sighed.

"I see… But didn't you try approach Hikari – kun?"

"I didn't want to involve him. As long as I remained far from him he wouldn't have some idiots questioning him if he was conspiring with us or something like that. He's busy enough with his studies. Believe it or not some elements in the Net Police's Cyber CID won't accept that we're just admirers of the late Serenade and bringers of stability and tend to come up with paranoia and conspiracy theories which are mistaken. Don't believe everything you hear. Filter the contents."

"A-alright…"

"And we haven't done society any real harm. In fact we've helped by picking some dangerous criminal Navis and have those guys deleted by representatives of the law in battle. Like that only the small fry will be left and those will be more easily intimidated…"

"By the way… Where are we at?" Hikawa Jr. asked.

"_Purgatory_."

"_Purgatory_? A building?"

"No, no. A mobile marine fortress with cloaking capabilities and a data center… Although the data center is still under preliminary testing and some interior jobs remain to be done…" Kage explained.

"How did we get here so quickly? I don't believe it's even been an hour since our encounter." He frowned.

"To make it short… We used a machine named "Dimensional Converter" which turned our bodies into data to be sent through a channel and then be reassembled back here… The travel time is measured in scales lesser than a second so you don't get to notice anything: one moment you're in one spot and in the other you're elsewhere."

"Whoa! Are you sure you guys aren't some technological department of the JSDF?" Hikawa Jr. gasped.

"No, no. We simply made reality an old project. It's about exploiting the full potential of the Cyber World…"

"One request, though. If they ask you where you were being held tell them the place was named _Purgatory_ but that it's a facility somewhere in Kanto. Can you do us that little favor? We don't want to have the surprise spoiled, see." Kage requested.

"Well… Some fans must feel bad about getting the surprise spoiled by them so I won't spoil it…" He trailed off.

"Thanks. I owe you one."

"Why are carrying guns, anyway?"

"Self-defense: sometimes we stumble upon bad guys and we need to defend ourselves so we put them to sleep and leave them there for the police to pick them up." Kage explained.

"So you wanna help the police round up criminals?"

"Exactly. The full scale of our project will become clear by the summer, you see." _Noir_ confirmed.

"Why'd you take off my shirt?"

"Oh, that… We thought that if the cuffs failed you wouldn't try to run away without the shirt…" _Noir_ admitted.

"Well… Guess so…" He blushed.

"But relax… There's no – one else onboard except us because most of the other members don't know anything about this project and if they know they've just heard the name… They'll get to know eventually but I do 'cause I'm Boss' favorite." Kage patted his right shoulder.

"Besides… You look horny." _Noir_ teased.

"We're all guys. Don't we always change in the changing room after swimming class?" Kage reminded him.

"Well… Yeah… That's true…"

"So? Ooyama's stuff got bigger?"

"I wouldn't be able to say…" He blushed again.

"The guy's still bragging 'round?"

"Yeah… Sakurai – san and Ayanokouji – san… Both of them are fed up with his behavior of inventing things… He tried to challenge Ijuuin – kun but got defeated in barely 20 seconds." He admitted.

"Heh! I knew it. A lot of muscle and mouth but no real sense of battle strategy… One should accept that things are the way they are and not try to build another "reality" which is an illusion."

"So, how am I gonna get back?"

"Simple! We'll warp you at a location close to your home and then you can walk there. You'll call your father and there'll talks with him and the police and maybe with the Net Police's Cyber CID 'cause anything related to us is handled by them." Kage explained.

"Dad will be angry at me?"

"Obviously but he'll also be relieved you're alright. You just say that I got nervous and I wanted to bring you elsewhere to have a quieter chat and negotiate a way out." Kage summed.

"Well… That's pretty much what happened, true…"

"Good. We could begin to wrap up. By the way… Are you still using the same email address from back then?" Kage asked.

"Yeah. I didn't change it."

"Excellent. We'll be in contact and I'll tell you what's happened during these months: having to receive the news second-handed must've left several gaps to fill."

"Eh… Kage – kun… Will you be alright? With that bad person trying to catch you and all…" Hiwaka Jr. asked.

"Don't worry. I've got insurance. Some info which will expose his tax evasion and bribing maneuvers… It's my insurance: if he tries to kill me, capture me or harm me the info goes public on all major Ameroupe media and there's nothing he can do to halt it 'cause I don't carry it on me."

"Isn't that like blackmailing?"

"I know. But you've gotta have something to hold them at bay: like you hold people at bay using fences then I use this info I hacked from his computers as my own barbed wire fence."

"I see… There's no other way around, then?"

"I'd used any other method if possible, believe me. But in the end I had to resort to this." He sighed with a hint of sadness to him.

"O-okay…"

"Anyway…"

Kage walked up to him and suddenly pinched his right nipple Hikawa Jr. gasped and blushed as he noticed something and tried to hide it but Kage had spotted it.

"You get excited so easily… Maybe I'll invite you to a party one day. Heh, heh, heh. But that's enough."

He took out a key and unlocked the handcuffs: Hikawa Jr. lowered his arms and then rubbed his wrists as Kage picked his shirt and upper shirt which he handed over to him: he quickly put them on and adjusted the buttons before nodding to signal he was ready.

"Good. Let's go to the deck."

"A-alright. Please lead the way."

"But I'll insist: you're horny." Kage whispered to him.

"Please…!" He turned red again.

"Heh, heh, heh. Don't worry, man. We can hold it off 'till the summer vacations kicks in and then we'll talk… If Sakurai – san doesn't beat to me, though…" He blinked him the right eye.

"How lovely." He grimly muttered.

"Don't be so defeatist! This is thrilling stuff, ya see." Kage patted the back of his right shoulder.

"Here's the elevator: please step in." _Noir_ indicated.

They stepped into a large heavy-duty elevator and it began to climb upwards: Hikawa Jr. inhaled and then exhaled while he spotted Kage typing a message into his Link PET which he glanced at over his right shoulder as he faced away from him:

"The shelter's so strong that not even the Luftwaffe's best bomb could pierce through its concrete and steel."

_Maybe it's a coded manner of saying that this place is very secure and that no intruders could easily get inside of it…? If this is in the middle of the ocean then any ships or boats in approach would be spotted miles away and there'd be ample time to prepare a defense…_

"In case you're wondering, this babe is parked in Akihara Bay near the old port district admin office building… This way the trip is short and given how no ships come to this place to begin with then there's no real risk of collision." _Noir_ told him.

"Oh, I remember that district. It died down years ago but it was already decaying because of its building which was done in a rush to try to gain profit from sea access but it soon became clear that the facilities were too small for the times and such a new set of docks and such had to be built two kilometers NNE…" Hikawa Jr. recalled.

"Correct, Watson."

"Do excuse me, sir?"

"Oh please. Don't say "sir"… It makes me sound old and I'm just around your age, Hikawa – kun…" He giggled.

"Ah! Then, why…?"

"The hood, you mean? A car accident… My face didn't end up well even with plastic surgery, so…" He sighed.

"Oh! Sorry, I shouldn't have asked.

"It's alright. Everyone feels curious the first time anyway."

"We're here." Legato announced.

They exited into the large deck where they could see how the sun had almost disappeared below the horizon: Hikawa Jr. walked over to the right side railing and leant on it as if hypnotized by the vision of the sun and the colorings of the sky.

"Wow. I'd never imagined sunset could look so beautiful… I'm totally awed." He admitted.

"Heh, heh, heh. That's one of the bonuses of this place, yessir." Kage chuckled as he loomed from behind him and placed both hands over his shoulders.

"Eh… But…" Hikawa Jr. argued.

"Relax! I'm just teasing ya~…" He whispered.

"Please… That's enough for one day… I'm a boy!"

"But guy with guy is cool too. Forget the prejudices: it's a very exciting thing!" Kage whispered next.

"Oh man. I'm in trouble." Hikawa Jr. rolled his eyes.

"Don't be like that! Look forward to our next encounter where I'll introduce you to our own world… You'll like it: I was skeptical at first but I got hooked into the business ever since the first day. But I won't say who the lucky guy was 'cause that's a secret, see…" He admitted.

"Transfer preparations completed!" Andy called out.

"Coordinates set!" Legato added.

"Good. We'll be in contact, Hikawa – kun. Tell Hikari – kun that the shield sphere is a good place to meet at. He'll know what I mean!"

"A-alright… And please don't tease me anymore!"

Hikawa Jr. was warped away by the "Dimensional Converter" and the four of them chuckled under their breaths.

_Alright, Ijuuin Enzan… I'll be waiting to face ya again…_


	28. Chapter 28: Questions

**Chapter 28: Questions**

21:05 PM (Japan Time), Monday May the 25th…

"… I'm home!"

"Tooru! Thank goodness! Are you hurt? What happened?"

"Well… Can I take the shoes off first and then can we talk about it on the living room, dad?"

"There's a young man here who's been looking into your sudden disappearance… He'll ask you some questions so reply to them because he's come from the Net Police's Cyber CID…"

"Oh. It's gotta be Ijuuin – kun then."

"You know him?"

"He's a friend of Hikari – kun."

"Ah. But let's not make him wait. I want to know what's happened to you right away."

Hikawa Jr. got to his home and his exasperated father met him in the foyer announcing Enzan's presence: Hikawa Jr. took off his shoes and put on the slippers before following his father into the living room where Enzan was sitting in a chair: he stood up.

"So you're Hikawa Tooru. I know Hikari."

"Yes. He talked a lot about you, Ijuuin – kun. But if you've got some questions to ask of me go on ahead."

"Alright. What exactly happened? I got involved because a bot I'd placed to register a certain name's input in any system got triggered and it lead me to the Waterworks where I learned of your disappearance. The name in question was "Wholy Jisep"… Ever heard of it?"

"Hikari – kun told me a man by that name had invited you and him to that cruise ship where he got shot in the arm because a bad guy missed trying to hit the passenger next to him."

"Alright. You go straight from the school to the Waterworks?"

"No. I firstly go to the swimming club and do a 35 – minute session before heading here which isn't too far with the bus… I always pick the same bus and take about 15 minutes… I got here close to 19 PM… I then went to look at the water filtering machines room as usual…"

"And there was that "Government inspector" who signed in with the name of "Wholy Jisep"… Can you describe them?"

"Easy. It was Kage – kun."

"Kage Miquel!" He uttered.

"Who's that?" Hikawa Sr. asked.

"A classmate of mine of last year… He'd left the school in the summer and he didn't return… Hikari – kun told me he'd been involved in some group or another but that he wasn't doing really dangerous stuff…"

"So Kage was there. What was he doing?"

"I firstly didn't see him because he'd been hiding behind a machine: I spotted his open tool-box and he came out while trying to hide his face with the cap and putting up a foreign accent. I didn't pay much attention and thought I was on the way so I turned around but then stopped because I noticed his PET sticking out of his right pocket in which it'd been hurriedly stuffed: the lower portion was sticking out."

"And you recognized the emblem. What happened next?"

"I tried to talk with him but he tried to pretend he was someone else: I didn't notice I was getting him nervous. I turned stubborn at all his "go home" orders and I picked his PET to force him to turn away thus revealing himself. He claimed it back and began to say he wasn't Yakuza as I thought and that what he was doing there was for the benefit of the Waterworks…" He narrated.

"Hum. You got into a fight?"

"No. I spotted his gun in the tool-box."

"A gun! He was armed?" Hikawa Sr. gasped.

"Well… Yeah… But it was a special model which only shot darts having a sleeping drug on them. He picked it and shot me on the right knee so I lost consciousness for quite a while."

"And that's why you vanished? Do you know what kind of car they used or anything?" Hikawa Sr. asked.

"It wasn't a car but some advanced machine which he called "Dimensional Converter" capable of transporting persons between two spots… I woke up in a storage room of a building they named _Purgatory_…"

"The so-famous _Purgatory_… Kage and Andy were there?"

"There was another person named _Noir_ and a Net Navi named Legato as well who were chatting in the corridor while I was just starting to wake up and get a hold of what was going on."

"_Noir_ and Legato too… Did they mention anything important?"

"Well. Not really. Kage – kun was apologizing to him because he'd seemingly screwed it up when it came to the point of his mission to begin with and his boss was trying to calm him down by telling him there had been no other way around… I called out for them and they came in to negotiate…" He continued.

"What did they want in exchange for freeing you?" Hikawa Sr. asked as if fearing the answer.

"Nothing."

"NOTHING?" He uttered.

"Yeah, really. Nothing. Kage – kun was still my classmate, you know. They wanted to prove they wanted to contribute to stability for society. Kage – kun added that he'd installed a filtering system in the Cyber World of the Waterworks too to help defend it. You can look for it and check it out yourselves to see that they're saying the truth."

"Which they surely are, anyway… Is there anything else?"

"Oh yeah. I asked Kage – kun about what had happened to him in Chicago and he told me how horrible things had been there and how his uncle was trying to turn him into a Tea Party radical."

"It's true. We've gotten reports of similar incidents: it tends to happen with former military and traditional right-winged people on their 40s or 50s… Some marriages have been split because of this. Washington is starting to react now that there are protests all across the States but the damage has been done by now." Enzan confirmed.

"How frightful!" Hikawa Sr. gasped.

"He admitted that he'd had to resort to picking information about his uncle's illegal activities and threatening for it to be leaked to the major media if any harm were to fall upon him: given how the info is in the hands of those Golden Star people then… He sounded pretty nerve-racking." He sighed.

"I see… Did he mention anything about Hikari?"

"He had a message for him…"

"Some kind of riddle?" Enzan seemed to guess.

"Yeah... "The shield sphere is a good place to meet at"… I dunno what he means. I guess it's somewhere secret because he said he'd avoided any meeting with Hikari – kun over fear of him being associated with them when he's always intended to keep him at the margin from this: he hinted at some paranoid people in the Net Police's Cyber CID trying to suspect him…" Hikawa Jr. added.

"Should've imagined it… Guess Chief Sorodo will have to remind them to work on facts and not speculate around…"

"But… Anyway, Tooru. You're alright? You're going to be alright?"

"Yeah. Dad. There's nothing to be worried about."

"How did you come back?"

"They warped to a spot one block away. I walked."

"I see. Well. I've got no further questions. Work-time for me. Be careful, though, Hikawa. Try not to talk too much about it or you could get into trouble because there are other hostile parties trying to find a weakness to strike at Golden Star but by now it's useless."

"Why?" Hikawa Sr. asked.

"They can make Navis enter the real world."

"What! But don't they need that black sky like years ago?"

"That was one method. But their method involves individual robots capable of copying a Net Navi's shape. They could make a closed dome too if they wanted to but those are just attempts at completing Science Labs projects, sir." He explained.

"Ah. But they won't try to attack the city or anything?"

"Not at all. Their interest is in the citizens' safety. They'll just use this ability to try to advance in Navi – Human interaction yet they're keeping it strictly secret so as to avoid a race to try to get their hands into one of those by rogue groups… Please try to avoid talking about either project, sir, or Hell would break loose." He warned next.

"I understand. If there are not going to be any consequences… Nobody at the Waterworks noticed Tooru's disappearance and I used my own phone to call so…"

"Good move, sir. Now if you shall excuse me, I have intruded your privacy and time for far too long. Good evening, sir."

"Oh, no. Don't be concerned. It's your duty."

"Thank you, sir. Good-bye, Hikawa Jr."

"Be strong, Ijuuin – kun. Or you may collapse from overdoing it."

"Heh… True. Guess I should look after myself too. Bye."

Enzan came out while Hikawa Jr. yawned and stretched.

"I should go to bed… Night, dad."

21:21 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Oh, Ijuuin – kun. Did you find Mr. Anderson?"

"No. But there's serious talk to do regarding the staff."

"The staff…? Is there a problem?"

"Let's go to your office, sir."

"Alright…"

Enzan returned to the Net Police HQ and found Oda in the hallway who tried to pull a joke but when Enzan brought up the word "staff" he snapped out of it and began to look worried: they climbed to the second floor and stepped into Oda's office filled with draft papers which were seemingly pending inputting into the computer, a MacBook: Oda made some space by piling some of the sheets and Enzan sat down in the visitors' chair.

"There are some who are trying to associate Hikari with conspiracies and Golden Star when he's unrelated to all of that. You should keep an eye out because if this gets to him it'll be bad for his morale…"

"Again… Damn it!"

BANG!

"S-superintendent?"

"Damn it… It's happening again…!"

Oda had suddenly formed a grimace and brought his fists down in the desk while looking angered, startling Enzan: he sighed and tried to vent off his sudden outburst.

"Ijuuin – kun. Is the door locked?" He suddenly asked.

"Huh? Eh… Yes, it is…"

"Good. This is between you and me. I've been trying to keep this sad truth away from you but I guess I should tell you… The real reason Hikari – kun quit the Cyber CID…"

"Huh? I thought he'd quit because he wanted to focus on his middle school start besides feeling he'd outlived his usefulness…"

"That was partly true but the truth is… He was being bullied."

"Bullied? By Cyber CID staff?" Enzan gasped.

"Do you remember? That day when Gospel made their debut, you'd challenged Hikari – kun to a duel on a warehouse and Air Man got in the way… Hikari – kun and Rock Man suddenly went into "Saito Style" mode and Rock Man went berserk… It was hard enough to stop him and that left some remorse aimed at him… I tried to cut it saying it'd been an accident and that the berserk was a side-effect like if you tried to make a coffee machine produce more than one coffee at the same time. Rock Man's body wasn't ready for that power yet and such the "conscience" of the program took over him." He began.

"I remember. So there was some remorse which was hard to shake off even though he'd had no real intention to make harm and it'd been an accident?" Enzan asked.

"Yeah. I had to insist reminding them that the accident at Chernobil had been an accident and that it'd been the result of a series of human and technical errors… That seemed to cut it as we focused on tackling "Gospel" and then Forte was firstly deleted… Yet… When the "Dark Power" crisis knocked at our doors and they saw that the "Saito Style" was no longer powerful enough they began to dismiss the tale and they didn't care about Blues' "Muramasa Blade" because they said it was just a cool sword and that was all. Yet the gaining of "Soul Unison" worried them again and they began to say it was danger because it could turn Blues berserk. I had to make them shut up again saying that if Serenade had been the one to grant them that power then he did knowing what would happen. The closing of that crisis and the tackling of the next one, that of the "Darkloids", kept us busy enough… The intrusion of Search Man formed some bad mood too but I had to tell them he'd been fooled by lookalike."

"So they tried to blame him for those incidents?" Blues guessed.

"Correct. The Ameroupe Army trying to take Rock Man away by force seemed to have been backed up by some of those idiots who thought they'd get rid of Rock Man like that but fell into dismay once they saw the Cybeasts' power… And even after Rock Man and Hikari – kun beat Greizer that remorse didn't fade… The out-of-bounds battle between you two in the Cyber World was also another source of fuel for those who argued Rock Man was dangerous… In the end it happened. What I feared most of all… A physical attack on Hikari – kun."

"What! When was that?" Enzan asked while gasping.

"August, 2008… Hikari – kun had come to visit me because he'd already formed the idea of temporarily leaving the Net Police's Cyber CID: Hikari – hakase and I had talked about it and I gave my full consent because I wanted to prove I appreciated his work. Well. Five outsiders on their 20s taking profit of one worker's chit-chat surrounded him on the corridor next to my office and began to beat him up while insulting him: I had to shoot into the air to scare them and then told them I'd cripple their knees if they kept at it: I fired two more warning shots and they ran away but by then security came in and reduced them while an ambulance had to take Hikari – kun to the hospital because I feared they could've caused internal bleeding too…"

"By all the…!" Blues cursed.

"It was the finishing straw. Those five bullies were condemned for the aggression to 7 years of prison: I assumed all responsibility and even got to fill my dismissal from the Cyber CID to the Chief… But when I told Hikari – kun on the hospital he told me I was the best Superintendent the Cyber CID could have and it'd be a big loss for me to leave… He wanted me to remain… His father agreed with it and so did the Chief so I remained."

"But… Why did I never get to hear of any of that?"

"It was a Sunday. You'd gone off to hunting in the Reverse Internet and there were only four or five agents in duty while I was finishing up some paperwork… We decided to not make any publicity of the whole deal at Hikari – hakase's request because he feared a swarm of media…"

"I see… So his gradual return to his behavior before the WWW's debut and such might be his attempts to totally distance himself from the Cyber CID and remain to how he was before?" Enzan guessed.

"Yes. In fact… The monthly meetings… Hikari – hakase and I speak with him after the meeting to follow on his evolution and insofar he seems to have locked the whole incident away and acts like nothing happened. But sometimes… He becomes… strange."

"Strange? How?"

"He avoids eye contact and although his face doesn't really change I can notice that he has anger running inside of him… Almost like he was about to try to hunt those down and return the damage they did to him… I call out to him and he snaps out of it but both I and Hikari – hakase have gotten worried…" Oda sighed.

"And Rock Man? What does he say?"

"Well… He more or less is going through the same… I accidentally saw something one day I went to the Science Labs to speak with Hikari – hakase regarding his analysis of the "Copy Roids" and the "Dimensional Converters"… Hikari – kun and Rock Man had been talking in a room and Rock Man suddenly began to kick everything around and act like he was fighting an invisible enemy before Hikari – kun calmed him down. They've been building up anger inside of them and they have to release it sooner or later… I'm worried about them, really. I did tell Hikari – hakase and he said he'd talk with them yet… It's something sad. Truly sad."

"Yeah… So you're worried that he could try to attack those who insult him and label him as strange or dangerous if he knew there were whisperings about him again?" Enzan caught the point.

"True. That's why I'll have to find those and have a talk with Chief Sorodo about the deal… We can't allow the whole incident to repeat. But you mustn't mention anything either. This is a secret talk. It never happened to begin with." He warned.

"I know, sir… Thank you for trusting in me, sir."

"You had to know. Both of you worked together and made a good combination… I didn't want you to feed on a lie forever. But I decided to let some time pass and wait for a moment… And when you've brought this topic out then…"

"I understand, sir."

"In fact… My mania with the ridiculous puns is my mechanism to keep my anger under check… I always have though everything to be so unfair… Hikari – kun saved the day several times in a row… And he asked for _nothing_ in return! Just for everything to go back to normal, like any citizen would… He just wanted to continue on with his life! He did it for the sake of his friends! He didn't want fame or money or rewards! He did it because he was one of the few who could do it!" Oda cursed aloud while opening up the floodgates.

"Please calm down, sir… I know it's very sad, sir, but humans can be so selfish sometimes, sir… It's hard to keep an egoistic instinct under check, sir…" Enzan tried to calm him down.

"Sorry… Sometimes I feel like I need to open the floodgates and let it go down the stream to merge with the unending oceans… You can go back already, Ijuuin – kun. We need some rest after what's happened. I'll be going back home soon too… And I'd say that we now need to worry about what's going on _inside_ than _outside_…"

"Alright, sir… Good evening, sir…"

Enzan came out and Oda sat back: he then spotted an email icon on his PC which he opened: he frowned.

"… "You have told the harsh truth. A noble act. Here is the list of those who threaten you gentlemen. Farewell" … It couldn't be…? Isn't that writing style Slur's? Then Golden Star wanted me to tell Ijuuin – kun? Maybe Hikari – kun _did_ tell Kage Miquel… As I thought… Kage didn't over-imagine things when he attacked with the Ryuusei Program… He was actually punishing us for what happened to Hikari – kun…!"

_Poor Hikari – kun… What can I do to help you? Is it too late or…?_


	29. Chapter 29: Magical word

**Chapter 29: Magical word**

14:44 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday June the 10th…

"… I say yo and behold! _Video Man_: _I'll be back_!"

"Yo. Vintage Man came out?"

"HUH? Ah! Madame Joanne! What might I do for thou?"

"Hah! That sounds old-fashioned but whatever. Where's Bandana Man at, anyway?"

"Kage? Dunno. I don't think he's come yet. He seems to show up past 18:00 PM…"

"Che. Another woman's involved, then…"

"Ahem, ahem. Do you have a problem with a fellow department member, _Mademoiselle_ Joanne?"

"Yikes!"

"See?"

Video Man had been joking as he did something inside of storage room the door of which was ajar when Joanne popped her head into the room to ask about Kage: she began to get annoyed when a familiar voice rang out behind her and Lily rolled her eyes while sighing: she'd obviously seen it coming to begin with: _Noir_ had come out of his office and walked over to them while keeping his arms aiming for the ground.

"Eh… No, no, _Danna_…" She quickly replied.

"You'd be better off not questioning his honor, _Mademoiselle_ Tozukana Joanne… Miquel – kun is not 15 yet and wouldn't dream of doing something so… undignified." He icily warned.

"G-gotcha, _Danna_…"

"I have warned you, _Mademoiselle_. He who warns a traitor is not, History has proven. Miquel – kun has a dignity and he'll do what it takes to protect it from hostile attacks. Be careful not to walk into thin ice."

"R-roger…"

"See?" Lily annoyingly asked.

"Oh. Leave me in peace." She snapped.

"Ahem, ahem… Do you need to dig out some skeletons in some closet, _Srs. _& _Senhoras_?"

"We do the job _presto_."

Agoras and Victor caught up with them: Agoras looked slightly amused and Victor struck as being up to something.

"No, no, gentlemen. There is no need to." _Noir_ replied.

"_Noir_ – sama? President Hades would like to meet with you, sir." Legato announced as he caught up with the group.

"Ah. Excellent. I'll be going, then. _À bientôt_."

_Noir_ and Legato headed away while Joanne set her glare on Agoras who didn't move an inch and merely kept the smug smile across his face yet he made a courteous bow while stepping out of the way: Joanne briskly walked past him and down the corridor while agitating her fingers into empty air: she looked like she was gonna strangle someone or ruin something so as to vent off her anger.

"I need to strangle someone~!" She hissed.

"Strangle the nothingness." Lily challenged.

"Something material!"

"That won't do, Joanne – chan. We're not here for that." Lily was unimpressed.

"Che! I'd like to beat down the bitch!"

"You can't: in-fighting of any kind is against the rules if it goes beyond mere words and even verbal fights have limits set to them. Rules are there to ensure the co-existence of all us and ensure we behave in a civilized and educated manner."

"Damn it! Grah! I'm gonna go VR – sniping to vent off this bad mood once and for all…! Hmmm? Hey! Martha!"

"Good morning, Joanne – san. I came to pick some stuff I forget and I'm on a hurry so you'll have to excuse me… I'm on a rush!"

"Wait a second, cha."

"Yes? What's the matter?"

"Between women: do cha think the bitch is using Zarashe to screw herself or what?"

"HUH? Oh no! I don't think Bertha – san would steep so low. She has her reputation!"

Joanne spotted Suzuki opening her room's door with a key and stopped her before she could step in: she made a straight to the point question and she looked dumbfounded at it.

"Come on. You've played deaf for the last 5 minutes or WHAT?" Lily exasperatedly asked.

"I'd rather think so." Akemi muttered.

"Oh my. Someone mentioned me?"

"Bertha! Cha…!"

"Hold back, Joanne – chan. Behave like a civilized person!"

"Uh-oh. I better scram."

"Y-yeah. Let's scram."

Suzuki quickly picked a book and a case she'd left atop the desk and quickly closed the room to run away: Joanne was about to jump towards Bertha as she smugly stood in the middle of the corridor having her arms folded: Lily was actually holding her by passing her arms beneath Joanne's shoulders and pulling her back: Sandra assumed a self-defense pose as if to warn she would strike down anyone who came closer.

"What is the source of such a scandal?" An annoyed voice asked.

The secretary showed up from inside of a room which apparently was hers and although her hat did hide most of the face she had an annoyed look to her mouth: Joanne didn't seem to mind her and was trying to attack Bertha while Lily kept on holding her back.

"Tozukana Joanne! What is this behavior?" She asked in a commanding tone of voice.

"None of cha business! Bitch! That bitch is my prey!"

"… What did you just say?" Her tone of voice changed and she began to look annoyed.

"She didn't intend to, ma'am, she just is being paranoid… She didn't score high at the VR so she's trying to vent her anger on others… I'll take her to her room to lie down, ma'am…!" Lily quickly replied.

"You better do so. Or there will be _consequences_." She warned as she suddenly formed a fist with the right hand.

"R-roger, ma'am. Alright! Stop acting like a feral thing! Let's go to your room and cool down! Here! Come!"

Lily began to drag Joanne away despite her struggle: the secretary looked on and then turned to glare at Bertha and Sandra: both lost their smug attitude and the air seemed to cool.

"Ikada Bertha! You did this on purpose." She told her.

"Well… Yes, ma'am… But I knew Lily would hold her back so…"

"Do not we have rules forbidding provocation and in-fighting? Or have you forgotten them? Well? What is the answer?"

"W-we haven't forgotten them, we just got smug and… It shall not happen twice, ma'am." Sandra quickly bowed.

"Do not forget that when President Hades is occupied I am in charge and so is Legato if Vice President _Noir_ is occupied. Slur – sama would not like to see such behavior." She warned.

"R-roger, ma'am…"

"Or do you want those plebeians out there to make fun of us saying we fight each other and that we will collapse sooner or later? Do you want the entire hard job we have done insofar collapse because of your rivalry and your attitude?" She icily questioned as she took a step forward and brandished her right fist.

"N-no, ma'am! Certainly not, ma'am!" Both replied.

"President Hades is a wise person but he sometimes is not strict enough when it comes to punishing the members' irregular behaviors. I shall not doubt in enforcing martial law if necessary or establishing timetables so that you do not meet each other in the corridors so often. Am I clear enough?" She warned next.

"Y-yes, ma'am!"

"Hmpf!"

She stepped into her own room again and slammed the door shut as if to prove there was no kidding at anything when she was around: both girls sighed in relief.

"Close, too close…! Guess I need to change my behavior or we will get into one Hell of a mess." Bertha muttered.

"Yeah… Let's go out for a walk: it's early on the morning and we could go to the shopping mall to see what the latest fashions are." Sandra suggested while wiping off some sweat which had begun on her helmet's forehead.

"Good idea… Wan is on a field mission anyway and won't be back before the afternoon. And I'm sure Ms. Secretary will appreciate if we stay away for some hours before Joanne calms down." Bertha agreed on it as she took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off too.

"Maybe we should try to reach a truce?"

"I see no other way around. But President Hades could contribute to establishing it."

"What a morning!"

19:19 PM (Japan Time), Saturday June the 22nd…

"… Alright. I get a field mission in a while which is checking for fake Apple merchandise being sold to tourists by illegal street vendors… They have the carcass and all but they're empty on the inside and by the time they realize that the vendors have vanished into thin air… It'd seem a citizen has spotted them coming and going from this ship so it's my mission to check it out."

"Roger, Enzan – sama. IR scanning shows no heat signatures onboard and I doubt them having access to IR-shielding technology."

Enzan had come to the docks where a lone boat had been docked at: fog was coming in from the harbor but he ignored it and climbed onboard the boat: he used a set of lock-picking tools to open the door and got inside of its cabin: he descended to the sleeping quarters for four persons and found that the far wall had been decorated with a large and smooth black slab of what seemed to be plastic: it was about two meters tall and thirty centimeters thick.

_Odd decoration… Let's look around…_

He opened some drawers and found the stuff: he closed them again and then headed into a small cargo bay packed with pizza boxes and other fast food items: two crates having more fakes inside of them had been placed there too.

"Let's ring Superintendent Oda: this is the place. We should check property registers and figure out who owns this boat."

"Roger, sir. Contacting… Line open, sir."

"Yo! Ijuuin – kun. How is it like?"

"As we predicted: this is the boat in question. The _Garganzola_… Could we look it up and try to organize a surprise raid? We've already got the prosecutor's permit to arrest them, right?"

"True, true. Hold on a min: I'll have to do it myself because Meijin – sama had some conference to attend to…"

"Alright. I'll be waiting on the outside…"

"Good."

Enzan came out of the boat and paced around the dock: he heard a car stopping not too far from his position and someone climbing down while walking in his direction: two red "eyes" shone from within the fog as a figure was drawn inside of it: Enzan gasped.

"_Bon soir_, _cher ami_."

"_Noir_!"

"_Chat Noir_."

"What the heck are you doing here?"

"What if I told you I'm the informer?" He replied.

"You leaked the boat's location in purpose? Those guys must've been an eyesore for Golden Star, then." He guessed.

"Not exactly. But we don't like these fools which stain the honor of our city, Ijuuin Enzan." He shrugged.

"Will you take out that stupid outfit already?"

"No. It makes me become one with the night."

"That's some silly _anime_ rip-off motto." Enzan grumbled.

"I wouldn't think so." He drily replied.

"So! _Purgatory_ is one of these buildings? A red herring to divert our attention?" Enzan signaled the row of warehouses behind him using the right hand's index finger.

"Who knows?" He countered.

"That sounded like a politician." He tried to taunt.

"And what if?"

"Che. He didn't fall for it…" Enzan grumbled.

"Ijuuin – kun? What's going on?" Oda asked.

"_Noir_, sir. He's here. Again."

"What!"

"You did a noble act. Superintendent Oda."

"How could you know that?" Oda questioned.

"Slur – sama was interested in the affair. She was the one who let me know and I told Miquel – kun about it because I thought he deserved to know. You skipped one little detail: the five attackers were street thugs who'd disguised as Net Police's Cyber CID to try to stain your reputation and they picked on him for no reason. They didn't know anything about him but it happened to be something of the place and the moment." _Noir_ continued with a sigh.

"And those idiots are still in jail, I take it?"

"Of course. And they won't get out anytime soon. I let out that hint via Hikawa – kun because I wanted you to be conscious that there were such fools in the Net Police's Cyber CID again… We've managed to ID them and you should've gotten the list plus a copy to Chief Sorodo. I wouldn't be surprised if he summoned you to try to deal with this mess."

"Alright. And how did you get that information?" Oda asked.

"Zero got it for us. We gave it some tags to limit the search criteria and by using its own search engine it found the info, decoded it and compared it with the profiles we'd inputted."

"Zero… You've been mentioning it several times already: is that some new software? Or some type of Net Navi?"

"Close, close. A super-computer… A new-gen super-computer like the NSA's TRANSLTR… The ultimate code-breaking machine… We got inspired by it and the NSA's Cryptography Department…"

"So you're mirroring Ameroupe governmental agencies… And that's how you can know so many things?"

"At first we had to resort to searching for it using the Navis and some public search engines but when Zero runs at 100% capacity then it'll be able to gain the ability to pick out data containing certain keywords to narrow down the results… Not unlike other Ameroupe agencies do to try to locate suspects or any type of complot… They can monitor phone calls if they want to and if they pick a certain keyword more than once and together with other keywords then they can begin inspecting those phone numbers…" He detailed.

"Isn't Kage around here?"

"He's waiting in _Purgatory_."

"Waiting for you?"

"Yes. And you too, Ijuuin Enzan."

"For me? He wants to challenge me to a Net Battle?"

"No. Today is the D – Day."

"The D – Day! What's going to happen?" Enzan gasped.

"Calm down. By "D – Day" I mean this is a day we'd been waiting for ever since half a year ago… A key day… But I won't anything else or I'd be spoiling it… By the way, do you know the motto "not everything is just black and white"? It happens that the newest _Pocket Monsters_ games for the Nintendo 3DS which will come out this September are titled _Pocket Monsters Black & White_… How curious! I'll obviously try out the _Black_ game… In fact… The new cover Legendary Dragon – Type Pokémon, Zekrom and Reshiram… They contain the words "kuro" and "shiro" into their names to further emphasize their figure… Zekrom will be the one I'll be facing…" He continued with some amusement.

"So you're a gamer."

"Who isn't? And _Pocket Monsters_ has a complex set of rules and math behind it which are interesting to study. With the new list of Gen V Pokémon we've achieved the astounding number of 649 Pokémon insofar…! I can't wait to explore the _Isshu Region_ and see them!"

"So! How am I supposed to get to _Purgatory_, wherever or whatever it is to begin with?" Enzan asked.

"Like the Pink Panther got to Chilly WaWa…"

"Huh? Who's the Pink Panther?"

"Your best hound, _cher ami_." He laughed.

"Is that addressed to me or Superintendent Oda?" Enzan asked while looking rather confused.

"I'd rather say _Monsieur_ Oda is the intended receiver of this humble and praising message." He made a courteous bow.

"But I really don't know anyone named "Pink Panther" or what or where "Chilly WaWa" is at…" Oda hesitantly replied.

"Try Goggle, _mon ami_."

"… Is this a joke? The "Pink Panther" is a cartoon character for children! It has its own set of games and such!" Oda complained.

"Ever heard of "T"?"

"T…? That's an initial… But an initial of _what_?"

"A magical word." He teased.

"Magical word…? Oi, oi… Quit the joking, will you?"

"Te…n…" He began to tease.

"Sky? Heaven?" Enzan interpreted.

"…so…u…"

"Sou? Don't you mean "zou", or, rather, hatred?"

"Nope. _Tensou souchi: hatsudouseyo_!"

"What? "Activate: transfer device!"… It couldn't be!"

The white shaft of light suddenly formed on Enzan's feet and he began to vanish while _Noir_ laughed in a victorious tone of voice…


	30. Chapter 30: Shaken to the core

**Chapter 30: Shaken to the core**

19:45 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday June the 10th…

"… _Bonjour_!"

"Fuck. _Chat Noir_! You're so gonna pay for this! Huh?"

"Surprise, surprise."

"Kage!"

"Yessir. Welcome to _Purgatory_!"

Enzan woke up only to find himself in the same spot Hikawa Jr. had been at some days ago: standing, with his arms lifted over his head and cuffed, and missing his shirt and vest: both Kage and _Noir_ (having removed the monk's cloth to reveal his true look) were standing in front of him while having smug smiles on their faces.

"So it is a building!"

"Nope. A mobile maritime fortress designed by the Ameroupe Navy and which we've completed… A huge shell to hold Zero, our new-gen super computer… And the place which will become our new HQ… A perfect HQ because it'll be in the middle of the bay and we'll be able to see anything trying to come closer… Cloaked in a field capable of fooling IR scanners and defended by materialized Navis… With password-locked doors and security systems…" He teased.

"What in the… So you've kept on making us get the wrong idea about it then! But how can you construct something so huge in secret? It must've cost billions! And the workers and all…!"

"The workers were Navis materialized inside of a "Dimensional Area" and which were pre-programmed with one segment to do… It was no easy job to coordinate them and the "Dimensional Converters" needed to be switched around every 7 hours to have them cool down… So they worked 21 hours a day but did not make breaks and continued until being told to stop… We saved off all the need for money and having to keep any staff silent about the project… We also used the old port facilities."

"And since no – one comes by here anymore save for some stray souls then… No – one noticed anything."

"So you're _Noir_. And as I thought that tale of the car accident and the disfigured face was a lie to hide your looks… Say… You and Kage look very alike! You're not gonna tell me you're twins."

"Close! But to begin with call me Kuroshiro Oriol. That's another reason it picked me that the Gen V games are gonna be named _Black & White_ 'cause that's my surname!" He announced.

"Kuroshiro Oriol, then. Who is "Twilight"?"

"Oh! You still remember that? My old Boss back when I was a member of that silly organization… _Nebula_."

"What! You were a member of Nebula?"

"Don't get the wrong idea, though! Twilight was a different tale from old Regal: this guy had cold blood and a terrific criminal mind rivaled only by Moriarty… He trained me as an assassin who'd get friendly with his victims before slowly killing them off… The mere thought repulsed me and I tried to rebel only to be beaten again and again… He'd try to brainwash me too but I was too strong for that. Luckily he was spending most of the time fighting with Regal over how Nebula should work like. In the end he tried to remove Regal by sneaking into the submarine but Forte showed up and blew it up so good riddance. I became free and met Mr. Hades who'd almost become a victim of the guy given some complicated tale about him being sent as cannon fodder by an uncle of his which had to give Twilight some drugs… He'd been monitoring Nebula and he stumbled upon Slur – sama who was also trying to figure out how dangerous they were and was disposed to intervene yet she finally decided her time was not ripe yet and tagged with Mr. Hades." He exposed.

"Bloody hell. And you programmed Legato and the others?"

"Yeah. I learnt Navi programming on my own while the man was busy and began to plot my insurrection. I jumped off the sinking ship Nebula was and became free."

"And that's when you got the idea to form Golden Star?"

"Slur – sama was the one with the idea. Create an organization which would in the long run contribute to the stability of society because that was one of Serenade's beliefs: society needed to be stabilized least it fall into chaos." Kuroshiro continued.

"And where does Kage come into the picture?"

"Heh, heh, heh. Oh yes… This is the good part. Do you remember the _SS Scheherazade Symphony_ and the bizarre cruise you had?"

"Yeah. Those three guys… Kyundai, Konda, Koyota… The former WWW 5th Column guys… And Wily was supposed to be on board but it turned out to be a trick by that Koyota man… He'd planned to murder his two buddies and get Wily's money for his own… He got to murder Konda but failed to murder Kyundai and stepped into Hell by his own hand…"

"What if the true culprit was Kyundai and we stepped in by sending two members and making a little change in the script?"

"No way!" Enzan gasped.

"Yessir. Let me explain his brilliant strategy which we took profit of back then… When Konda heads back to his room he finds a note telling him to go to the engine room signed by "Wholy Jisep"… Once there Kyundai is waiting for him and he shots him… He waits until _Monsieur_ Oda gives up the search for "Wily" and places Konda with the arms lifted inside of the box with the gasoline can… He then comes to play Trumps and waits until Koyota calls it quits to follow him to the restrooms and knock him out with chloroform… He picks his sweater and golden watch before tying him into the rope ladder hanging from the ship's stern… He places those clothes into Konda and prepares a "detonator"… A cigarette suspended over the can via a string… He rushed up-deck and soaks the flag in gasoline while preparing a cigarette which would light it up on its due moment too plus preparing the bank note with the knife. Setup's complete! All that's left is to come back and wait for the flag's cigarette to light the flag and rush upwards… He plays the scared and knowing the other cigarette is about to go off he walks forward… An unbreakable alibi is created!"

"What in the…" Enzan gasped.

"Then he began to play the stubborn and when he headed for the restroom he actually returned to the bow and set four cigarettes plus firecrackers lightly taped behind the railings… They will make up for the 4 shots we heard in the back. The distraction makes everyone go to the bow so he runs into the stern, sets up another two cigarettes, pull Koyota up and murder him to make it look like a suicide. From now I'll say "supposed" because he didn't get to do it but someone else stepped in his place… The rest of the plan was to shoot himself in the arm after stopping the flow of blood with a tennis ball under his right shoulder. He did get to shot a bullet through the window and it meets the wall where it'll be found later and accounted as the second gunshot you heard. He was supposed to time it with the first BANG sound so that he'd fall into the ground and look like he'd gotten hit right now because the wound was just starting to bleed… We'd hear a failed shot and then when Koyota was to be found he'd have installed a silencer into the gun accounting to why we didn't hear the third shot… By the time the police got in and heard all witnesses' talk they'd automatically conclude Koyota was the culprit trying to kill both of them. The clothes on Konda would've been a trick to deceive them into thinking Konda was the culprit at work. Kyundai would have an unbreakable alibi when the box went up on flames and he'd been shot in front of everyone… Koyota's gun would be missing a total of four bullets… One for Konda, two for Kyundai and one for himself. There you have it." He finished with a grin.

"B-but! Kyundai wasn't the one who got hit! Hikari got hit because Koyota made an error and…! Wait! If Koyota was dead and no – one shot for real because the sounds were firecrackers and the wound was there from a while ago then…? How did Hikari get wounded? I did read the forensics report and the gun had shot four bullets!"

"Heh. It's my turn to shine, Enzan. I've been waiting for this. You can't imagine how many times we've gone over this during this half a year's time…" Kage formed a smug smile.

"What?"

He stepped forward and pulled up his coat's right sleeve to reveal a white shirt beneath it which he also pulled up: Enzan gasped upon seeing a cicatrized wound half-way along the elbow and the wrist.

"I-impossible…! You…!" Enzan realized.

"Yeah. Me."

He suddenly took off his sunglasses to reveal chestnut brown irises and his smug smile grew wider: a strange glow began to form on his eyes as he pocketed the sunglasses and then pulled at his "skin" to reveal a plastic mask with blonde hair: he pulled it out and then swept the left hand over his brown messy hair: he looked up and his gaze connected with Enzan's as he realized who the man beneath the mask was.

"Hikari Netto?" He uttered in disbelief.

"Yeah! The real one! My new self! My new self born from the ashes my old self was! The new man I've become! A man who has risen above the wreck and ruin he was!" He announced.

"By all the…!"

"You couldn't see it coming. It was so perfectly staged from the very start that no – one could see it coming. Oriol… He's the original Kage Miquel! The Kage Miquel who shared a classroom with me for ten months was him! But he handed the mantle into me a year ago… And I spent the summer getting ready to become the new Kage Miquel!"

"The incident of two years ago…?"

"Correct! That was the last straw. It broke me. One doctor was brave enough to tell me the truth: I could've died back then. The realization made my whole system collapse and only Rock Man's help prevented me from trying to end it all because I thought there was no point in continuing to live in a world which I'd saved and now was trying to kill me for no reason! A world I saved in exchange for nothing! A world I saved because it had to be done! A world I saved because I could make a change! I didn't want fame, medals, money or anything in exchange! And despite that five idiots who didn't know they should be thankful to me did that to me!"

"And then Kage… I mean, Kuroshiro… He appeared?"

"Yeah. At the very start I didn't have the slightest idea. I just was thinking on obsessing myself with these studies and filling my head with them to keep that black abyss at bay. One month after we began the classes he invited me to his apartment and exposed his origins. But I saw that he was looking for his reason to live… And his idea of an organization which would try to fulfill Serenade's wishes attracted me. He told me about the plan of how he'd become Kage Miquel and be a reference model which I would then imitate. The prospect of gaining a new identity thrilled me because it meant I could be someone who hadn't gone through that. Someone unrelated to that business…" He exposed next.

"And the looking slow to catch on and those outbursts of anger were just a mask as well?"

"The dumb-looking part was a mask, yeah, but the outbursts of anger were very real because there were times in which I realized that even if I changed my face it wouldn't make a difference: my body still remembered the pain and the edge of the black and unending abyss…"

"But then… The whole tale with Chicago and Houston…?"

"Oriol did that part along with President Hades. They created a perfect reason for his disappearance and re-emergence as member of the newly renamed "Golden Star"… It was a smokescreen which we used to facilitate my entrance into the organization… Only President Hades, Legato, Oriol and Slur – sama knew of my true identity. But they acted convincingly, all of them. By the way, speaking of the _SS Scheherazade Symphony_… Do you remember who the other two passengers apart from us were?"

"Huh… Well… A salesman, Kanou Shade… A businesswoman, Nazonazo Mary… Wait a min! Shade… SHADE… Hades… HADES… Fuck! Hades! Shade! You just have to replace the "S" character…! It's a fucking anagram! We had the guy in front of our noses and didn't realize it at all…!" He gasped.

"Do you think that "businesswoman" was a coincidence too? Or rather, it's someone you know?"

"The secretary working for Hades…!"

"Yet she is not a true secretary."

"What?"

"She is… _Slur – sama in person_." Netto grinned.

"What! But you hadn't invented "Copy Roids" yet and…!"

"I know. But she used a prototype program extracted from a "Dimensional Area" to freely materialize… And in fact she was a friend of Serenade, yeah, but she came from _outside of Earth_…"

"You gotta be kidding me." Blues finally broke his silence.

"We aren't. _Kyoudai_." Legato teased as he stepped in.

"Shut up."

"Yessir. The first and only _extraterrestrial Net Navi_…! That's the reason she speaks like that… She was sent as a "Probe" to study Earth and by searching for the strongest she found Serenade and became intrigued by his mentality… She then decided to go her own way and that's when she began to think of doing something regarding society…" Netto announced while having that creepy smug smile drawn across his face.

"Extraterrestrial Net Navi…!"

"There's a motto which says that reality sometimes ends up beating fiction and this is the case! However! Only we five are privy to the truth about it! Everyone else thinks Slur is a Navi who formed on her own like the "Darkloids" and the "Dark Four Heavenly Kings"…"

"And what else have you been up to ever since a year ago?"

"Training, obviously enough. And the whole deal aboard the _Scheherazade Symphony_ was a test of faith Slur – sama arranged because she wanted to test if I was really committed to the cause or not. Nobody argued it with her and I thought that was just what I needed: I could kill off the ruins of me and be reborn. The tennis ball was picked up by Mr. Shade and we then got rid of the glass by melting it and repainted the railings."

"Why would you bother to melt the glass? Unless… Ah! When you shot yourself close to the window some blood could've stained it and even if you wiped it off it could be exposed by Luminol… Luckily there was no reason to check it because if someone had done so the whole thing would've crumbled… And to make sure no – one had funny ideas about it you pulled some strings to get it replaced for free and thus the ship's owners had no reason to complain about! And nobody would believe otherwise given the police report in which Kyundai's planned _scenario_ was totally believable!" Enzan realized.

"Correct, Watson. But allow me to introduce you to the last participant in this tale… Saito – niisan! Your turn to shine came!"

"About time!"

"…"Saito – niisan"…?" Enzan wondered.

The door opened and a new person walked in: he was around Kuroshiro's height and age so this meant he was slightly taller than Netto.

He had chestnut brown and neatly combed hair arranged in a symmetric manner and his face looked familiar despite that his eyes were hidden by a pair of sunglasses.

He wore a simple blue sleeveless vest over a white shirt, a pair of jeans, white socks and orange sneakers: his outfit looked extremely similar to Netto's own one.

He suddenly pocketed the sunglasses and revealed green emerald irises displaying amusement along with a smug smile: Enzan gasped and seemed to recognize his face.

"Rock Man? That you?" He gasped.

"Hikari Saito." He merely replied.

"Hikari Saito? But as far as I know… Hikari – hakase has only one son!"

"Legally speaking, yeah. But truth is otherwise. Netto and I were born as twin brothers! But I had a strange genetic heart disease called "HBD" which couldn't be healed. So I died."

"HUH? You died? But… Aren't you Rock Man?"

"Heh. My organic and frail body died but Papa applied his research in secret to save me: he'd been toying with the idea of allowing for a feedback circuit to exist between Navi and Operator and thus began to try to digitize DNA and genetic information… He'd been stuck at some point but by using my own DNA and genetic information he succeeded into implanting them into a Net Navi's body as well as my memories and consciousness… Thus I was re-incarnated as Rock Man EXE while Hikari Saito died. I lived in the Science Labs and fed on all info I could find while trying to get used to the idea. Papa promised me he'd find a way for me to return to the real world one day but he feared the technology would take a long time to catch up. Being reunited with Netto for our 11th birthday and starting the adventures with him soothed my mind. "Full Synchro" and such also bridged the gap between worlds. But when we defeated the "Dream Virus" and I thought I was done for I did call him "otouto" like I'd used to do when I was a kid… Papa was forced to confess the truth he'd hid from him on the aftermath." He detailed.

"So that's why you seemed to know each other's flaws and strong points so well… You were blood-related, twin brothers…! And now you're using a "Copy Roid" to return to the real world?"

"Better than a "Copy Roid"… The "cyborg body"…!"

"What? But aren't cyborgs sci-fi?"

"Well. It depends on how you look at it. Basically 90% of this body is human but the brain has been altered and instead a cybernetic brain has been installed. It contains a central processor where my Navi frame is stored at and then my consciousness program acts like it was that of a human's brain. Some implants in the CNS help the body interpret the signals and also I have nanomachines like everyone in Golden Star. Oriol is just like me too." He described.

"What! Then you originally were a Net Navi? But why would such a criminal bother to make something so complicated?"

"Good question, Ijuuin! The world's first cyborg… Gotcha?"

"He was so arrogant that he thought he could crown himself as the inventor of the world's first cyborg? What kind of man was he and where'd he come from?"

"Dunno. He never was much of a talker. And since he wore a balaclava he could've been on his 60s for all I knew. I never bothered to investigate because I figured out from the star that the guy's name was an alias. Incidentally, Laser Man thought he was being original but he ended up repeating the same idea Twilight had already developed."

"You mean… There's another Rock Man DS?"

"And that's me. Umbra."

"Umbra!" He gasped.

"But I'm a billion times over that guy. I might not be terribly powerful but at least I have emotions and am not an incarnation of hatred. I'm not perfect either. I sometimes have nightmares as a side-result of the guy's attempted brainwashing by uploading VR simulations into me. He would torment me making me think I'd killed Netto – kun in some form or another and in his last breath he asked "Why…?" before dying. Those are what I've had a hard time countering and only by obsessing myself with reading and studying subjects far ahead of my age."

He rummaged into his right jeans' pocket and took out a purplish-colored Link PET with Legato's own drawing as emblem: he inputted a command and projected a life-sized hologram of a Net Navi who looked identical to Rock Man save for the purple color palette, eyes with red irises, and slightly different face shape along with his chest emblem being colored in a navy blue color instead of red: his facial expression displayed lack of interest in anything.

"Yeah. That's my look as Umbra. But I've never left this body ever since I got uploaded into it despite it being possible. It's just a matter of transmitting my own data through one eye in the form of the IR laser and into the PET: the nanomachines place my body in a sleep-like status and monitor that my health continues to be unaltered. But I've gotten so used to being "human" that I haven't done it once, even."

"But since that could raise moral questions and it's not something easily produced we developed the "Copy Roids" as a first step. There'll be a moment in which they'll be able to process food and drink as energy and also be able to store as a program allowing for free materialization. Navis will be able to customize their appearance and no – one will be able to tell them apart from normal persons." Legato added.

"You're planning _that_ far ahead?" Enzan gasped.

"That's…!" Even Blues was surprised.

"However! We can't let everything be exposed now. I told you tonight because you're the only person I know who has been chasing me for half a year out of duty and not personal feelings. Yet we'll have to use a little insurance until the time is ripe… I'll eventually tell Papa but that can be held off for a little while… Priority One is making sure we can make Zero run at 100% power and see what it can do while trouble-shooting along the way and debugging…" Netto cleared his throat.

"What kind of "insurance", Hikari Jr.?" He demanded.

"Don't worry… It won't harm you and I'm not blackmailing you or anything like that… In fact you won't even remember what happened tonight to begin with…" He formed a smug smile.

He made a signal to Saito who nodded and drew his Beretta M92 F converted which he cocked.

"Time for a nap, Enzan and _Buruusu_… By the time you wake up you'll believe this was just a terribly realistic nightmare."

"Wait! What are you…? Ugh! Uh… Uh…"

"Enzan – sama? Enzan – sa…! Huh...! Uh…"

Saito shot Enzan's right knee and he fell unconscious while Legato picked his PET from his jeans' right pocket and switched it off: the ground grinned and directed accomplice-like smiles to each other.

"Alright. Let's get to work. We must come up with a convincing reason of why he's been out of contact for so long…" Netto grinned.

20:49 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Uh-unh…"

"He's waking up."

"Can you hear me, Ijuuin – kun?"

"Huh… Superintendent Oda…? Meijin…?"

"Relax. This is the Net Police's HQ…"

"Huh… The Net Police's HQ…? Where have I been at?"

"That _Noir_ guy suddenly transported you somewhere where we couldn't receive your PET's signal… And you suddenly reappeared in the rear yard of the building… I guess he pulled a joke on you."

"Huh-uh… I think so, yeah… Blues… Don't you remember?"

"No, sir. They switched me off, sir."

Enzan began to wake up and found that he was lying face-up on the couch placed inside of the building's infirmary: Oda and Meijin were standing next to him while Enzan looked rather clouded and slow of reflexes: he managed to sit up and looked around in a disoriented manner.

"Guess the sleeping dart had too powerful of a round this time around and it's had some effects… It sometimes happens and it's something rather unpredictable…" Oda told him.

"Huh… I can only remember hitting the floor, hard… Guess I lost consciousness… Next thing I remember is that then I walked up stone stairs into the street… I walked for two to three minutes before I collapsed and I can't remember anything else…"

"I see. I guess they pulled a joke on you and that earlier dramatic setting was just part of it." Oda concluded.

"Yes, sir… I think so, sir…"

"Man. I'd like to bust one of 'em. By the way… They've been installing somethin' 'round the Reverse Internet." Punk told them.

"What?" Blues asked.

"Some kind of metallic white octagonal prism which is barely a meter tall and can be hidden under fake hollow rocks… It has wires which end up in sensors calibrated to pick any encrypted traffic and then send the data elsewhere… We tried to follow it but ended up stuck in some kind of gateway with small narrow openings for the data… And then that Slur Navi showed up. He called "wandering soul" and told me to "seek the road from which you came from"… That gal's mere apparition chilled everythin' on me so I ran outta there before I got slaughtered: I swear she was directing a smug smile at me from behind me." He ended.

"I see… They must be for some kind of analysis system… Maybe that Zero thing Suzuki has heard about as of late…"

"We did contact her and told us _Noir _and Kage had come out of the HQ along with Legato and Andy… But she doesn't know where they've gone to and they announced they weren't coming back tonight. Joanne seems to believe they're hanging out with girls and Hades apparently didn't like the baseless accusation so she's scolded her."

"No wonder." Enzan muttered.

"But rumors are circulating about that _Purgatory_ and it'd seem that they're expected to switch HQs along the summer but the location hasn't been disclosed yet. Hades has promised there will be more space and that the place will feel more comfortable: apparently the port building was always intended to be a temporary stop apart from a sign that they're not show-offs because they have enough with a rather weathered down building as HQ…" Meijin added.

"Hum… So it's gotta be a building after all."

"Obviously. Or an underground bunker too… The list is large. We've tried to analyze Kage's messages and I found something."

"Really?" Enzan was now wide awake.

"Really. I tried looking for "Installation 05" and limited the search by saying "games"…"

"And what came out, Meijin?" Enzan eagerly asked.

"A shooter game series by Microsoft and a company named Bungie: the title is _Halo_ and it basically is a shooter set in the futuristic 26th century following the adventures of the Master Chief, a super-solider of the UNSC Spartan II Program… They visit two "Halo", gigantic ring-shaped artificial worlds over 100,000 years old… Each "Halo" is referred as "Installation" and they range from 01 to 07. Installation 05 is named Delta Halo. And each one is designed to fire a tactical energy shockwave spanning over 25,000 light-years in order to wipe out all targeted sentient life. To avoid that, the engineers, the extinct "Forerunners", built some "Shield Worlds" designed to protect one from their effects apart from a gigantic installation outside the Milky Way titled "Installation 00" or "Ark"… In short: "Installation 05 is about to fire. Better go find shelter." … means to say that Hikari – kun should find a shelter. And by that I think Kage was attempting to approach him and made him think of a safe place to meet."

"And Hikawa Jr.s' message…?" He eagerly asked next.

"Well… It said "the shield sphere is a good place to meet at" and it's a reference to a "Shield World" because planets are spheroids. It's another form of telling him to locate a safe spot to meet."

"So we should ask of him if he did meet with him or not. But I won't blame him for that: they haven't seen each other for a year and Kage surely wanted to make it clear what they were doing was for everyone's sake like Hikari did back then…" Enzan guessed.

"It's the most logical conclusion. I guess we'll have a rather slow-paced summer ahead of us. You could take some days off too. I don't think anything big will happen: at the most there'll be this moving out and we'll get to know what Zero is but we can already guess it's a super-computer of some sort…" Oda advised.

"Yeah. Guess I will. I need some rest but I feel sluggish… Could I please remain here for tonight?" He requested as he barely suppressed a large yawn.

"Sure. No problem." Oda confirmed.

"Hum… Blues… Wake me up at 08:30 AM…"

"Roger, sir."

"Fua~h… Good… night."

He suddenly fell asleep and Meijin placed a light blanket over him as well as a pillow behind his head: both then came out into the corridor and nodded to each other before going separate ways: Oda walked into his office and gasped when he spotted the "secretary" sitting in the visitor's chair: he quickly closed the door and sat down on his own chair while remaining silent as if expecting her to make the first move.

"It is as you gentlemen have deduced." She merely said.

"Or maybe you want to give us that feeling?" He countered.

"Ah. That is good question, true." She sounded amused.

"As long as his health is not endangered I don't care if you pull a prank on him. I already know you're not an enemy. You're just enigmatic and people have an obsession about trying to investigate and find out why it is so enigmatic and what's at the source."

"That is true. I shall not deny a universal truth."

"I rather say you should keep Joanne under control or else we could get a mess one of these days."

"Such is my intention and most of the members agree with me, Superintendent Oda. Well then. It is late. I shall not bother you anymore and I shall apologize for coming in like this but I wanted to test how you would react against something unexpected. You obviously did not get this far by mere merits. That is good. One should prove they deserve holding the rank they hold. Good evening. So long."

"So long, ma'am." He calmly nodded in agreement.

She came out and closed the door while Oda sighed and closed his eyes as if reflecting.

_What happened to Ijuuin – kun? I smell a conspiracy…_


	31. Chapter 31: Small party

**Chapter 31: Small party**

10:58 AM (Japan Time), Sunday June the 23rd…

"… Welcome onboard."

"Wow. So this _Noir_ – san's room…"

"Here you have him.

"Hi. Nice to meet you again."

"Whoa! You look around my same age…!"

"I am."

"Wait a min! You two… You wouldn't be twins, right?"

"Close, close."

"Look-alikes?"

"Close, close."

"I give up."

"Wait a min. Well?"

"WHA~H? HIKARI – KUN?"

"Surprised?"

"How couldn't I!"

Hikawa Jr. had been led into a metallic room apparently inside of _Purgatory_ which had a king-sized bed, four foldable chairs set around a round portable plastic table and a cupboard on the NW corner of the room: there was an adjacent door in the west wall leading somewhere else as well.

"B-but then… He was the Kage – kun I knew?"

"Yessir. I carried on ever since a year ago."

"Call me Kuroshiro Oriol."

Kage had taken off his mask to Hikawa Jr.'s utter surprised while Netto and Kuroshiro formed smug smiles: Kuroshiro removed his sunglasses to show how his eyes' irises were blue in color.

"B-but why would fool everyone and…?"

"Long story… To make it short: I was largely dissatisfied with my life after all those "adventures" ended… And seeing how instead of being thanked because I saved everyone over and over again in exchange for nothing there were some stupid fools who actually feared me and tried to corrupt our names by calling us threats… I couldn't bear on with that and that's when Oriol appeared. We had a meeting a month after the school began and he began to tell me how he'd come here to offer me the chance to become a new man… To become above the wreck I was… And this is why I became Kage Miquel, one of Golden Star's members, in honor of the late Serenade…" He summed up.

"What! But… Those people were really idiotic! How could you or Rock Man be a threat, Hikari – kun? You weren't even 13 back then! They wouldn't try to understand?" Hikawa Jr. gasped.

"No. And that's why we staged everything to make me look like I'm not related to these guys and I've quit playing hero… But the only thing I fight for right now is the stability of society…" He sighed.

"Then, that Navi, Legato… He was Andy? How did he do it?"

"Simple. He projected a hologram over his body. But in Rock Man's case he uses an embedded program which can change his body code and shape radically yet keeping the core structure…"

"And that incident with that "uncle" was a made-up tale too?"

"Correct. Well. Enough exposition. Say, Hikawa – kun… Has Meiru made a move yet or you're still a non-experienced guy?"

"You're not gonna tell me you invited me here to… have sex!"

"What… Do you think it's ugly? We're guys! We can do it too. Forget all those prejudices: you'll _love_ it. Maybe we'll gear you up too."

"Gear me up?" Hikawa Jr. blushed.

"Yessir… We'll make you look sexier than what you already are… Oriol: fetch the stuff." Netto grinned.

"Roger."

"Wait. Didn't you say he's your Boss?"

"As Kage Miquel, yeah. As Hikari Netto he's my friend."

"And to avoid anyone noticing and starting to think about why you look so alike he uses that monk disguise…?" Hikawa Jr. guessed.

"Bravo, Uncle Merton."

"Uncle Merton?" He sounded surprised.

"Let's have fun, Hikawa – kun. Will you concede me this desire? I've always liked your sexy looks and I've wished to play with you for a long time already… Just once… You can't say you don't like something without having tried it out firstly, can you?" He began to rub his lower jaw with the right hand's index finger as if to tease him.

"W-well… But just once…" Hikawa Jr. nervously replied.

"My word."

Netto began to take off his clothes and Hikawa Jr. followed suit in a slow and shy manner: Netto began to look at him from close quarters and softly lifted his cock to look at it.

"Hmmm… Good size, yeah… Round and cute nipples too… It's best to do it at this age or else the figure of your body is changed by puberty and it loses its grace…" He eagerly muttered.

"Alright, Hikawa – kun. Let's gear you up." Oriol announced as he walked over to them carrying a wheeled silver suitcase.

Hikawa Jr. gulped while Netto closed his arms around his waist from behind and teased him by licking the rear of his right ear: Hikawa Jr. made a small moan.

"Here. Please place yours arms behind your back parallel to each other and aiming for the ground…"

Hikawa Jr. did as told while Kuroshiro opened the suitcase and took out some pink-colored leather bands which had a metallic ring allowing one to interconnect them as well as adjust their thickness: he began by putting a first piece which was set around the base of neck and formed two "V" shapes while seen from the front and the back: he added a circling band which connected to the rings at the lower end of each "V" and pressed against the skin just above his nipples while keeping his arms locked in place.

"Let's keep on… Heh, heh, heh."

Kuroshiro connected a thin vertical band which linked to a second identical set of two bands and two rings pressing against the skin slightly below his nipples and at around the elbows: he repeated the same thing a third time and this set of two bands ended up being located close to the waist: Hikawa Jr. noticed how his arms had been cramped into place and he was only able to move his hands: Kuroshiro then picked two leather wrist-bands and connected them with a chain after placing them on his wrists to act as hand-cuffs.

"Lastly…!"

He closed a pink leather collar around his neck and produced a curved leather band which included some kind of bag with a small hole cut up on the front of it: he actually passed it across his insides' entrance and stuffed his balls inside of the bag letting the cock come out through the hole: Hikawa Jr. blushed at the feeling and was then made to seat in a chair as Kuroshiro added two tall and tight leather boots colored pink too which reached past his knees thus limiting his legs' movements too: Kuroshiro then turned the chair to look at the wall and Hikawa Jr. blushed a lot once he was his looks reflected in a full-body mirror: his cock had gotten hard even and it didn't escape their eyes.

"My, my. Excited already, Hikawa – kun? You're somewhat of a masochist guy, aren't you?" Netto teased.

"Well…" He trailed off.

"That's a confession." Kuroshiro added with a grin.

Kuroshiro suddenly picked him bridal style and deposited him atop the bed as he also undressed: both guys lied at his sides and Hikawa Jr.'s blush increased: Kuroshiro suddenly clipped two plastic clothes pegs connected by a thing string into his nipples and he gasped.

"Don't they wake you up? It's exhilarating to feel their sensation and your penis agrees with me, Hikawa – kun. Look at how hard it's already become without us doing anything!" Kuroshiro teased.

"Give him a blowjob, Oriol, while I check out his insides." Netto told him as he leant Hikawa Jr.'s body over his and unfastened the band running across his ass' length to expose the entrance.

"Roger."

"Blow-job…? What's that?"

"This."

"W-whoa!"

Kuroshiro suddenly took Hikawa Jr.'s cock into his mouth and began to lick it while rubbing it with his right hand: he gasped in surprise but opened his eyes wide when he felt Netto's cock pushing its way inside of his ass: Netto began to toy with the clothes pegs and Hikawa Jr. began to moan and groan while closing his eyes and being apparently overwhelmed by the sensations.

"Happy, Hikawa – kun? You've had your first guy and it happened to be your greatest fan. I'm being soft, you know. And I've gone through this too so I know how it feels like. But I gotta confess I'm the one who made the first move on him and got him right there, on his apartment's sofa. It was fun." Netto admitted.

"And we've become an official couple too!"

"Official… couple…?" He asked between moans.

"Look!"

Netto showed him a golden ring with the silver Alphabet letters "K. O." engraved on it while Kuroshiro had a silver ring with the golden Alphabet letters "K. M." engraved on its north face.

"W-whoa… Congratulations…!" He managed to improve.

"Thanks. Huh! I think that I'm about to release… Here I go!"

Netto closed his eyes and released inside of Hikawa Jr. to his surprise: he then gasped as he felt his own release being triggered and how he filled Kuroshiro's mouth with his white stuff: Kuroshiro took his cock out from the mouth and suddenly climbed up to kiss Hikawa Jr., who got caught in the sensation and didn't realize what he was doing until Kuroshiro broke away looking at the string of saliva and white stuff linking them.

"How it did feel like, Hikawa – kun?"

"O-overwhelming…" He admitted.

"Good! Oriol: check out his insides and I'll go for the six-nine 'cause he deserves it. I'll then test out his cock."

"Roger."

Netto and Kuroshiro exchanged places and Netto placed his body so that his cock would be stuffed inside of Hikawa Jr.'s mouth at the same time Netto licked his: Kuroshiro began to pump into his ass while Hikawa Jr. let instinct guide him as he sucked and licked Netto's cock: he looked ecstatic at the experience while Kuroshiro had a grin across his face: Hikawa Jr. suddenly realized how he'd triggered Netto's release and savored the white stuff which filled his mouth: he noticed his own release too and how his inner muscles tightened around Kuroshiro's cock thus making him release as well: Netto removed himself from that position and suddenly kissed him: they then broke apart and panted.

"Alright. I'm gonna ride in your cock. Oriol. Have him try out a blowjob with you and keep his ass busy with the 4.5 centimeter toy! Use the black model for beginners." He instructed.

"O. K.!"

"Black toy…? 4.5 centimeters…?"

"Didn't you know? A cock's max width is around 5 centimeters. And there a lot of sexual toys to stuff up one's ass and tease them with their vibrations… The 4.5 will feel less thick than a cock but thick enough to fill it up, ya see." Netto explained.

"Have a look."

Kuroshiro procured a black latex imitation of a cock with a small metallic cylinder attached below it having a four-mode-dial: he stuffed it up Hikawa Jr.'s ass and turned it on at the "SLOW" mode while he sat on his knees over his head and facing north while lifting Hikawa Jr.'s head to stuff his cock into his mouth: Netto, on the meanwhile, rubbed the cock to turn it hard and then slowly lowered his body into it: Hikawa Jr. opened his eyes wide from the sensation while Netto let out a large sight of satisfaction and pleasure.

"Good…! 4.7 centimeters, I think… Good stuff!"

"His tongue feels good and he seems to be getting the hang of it. Once you learn this you simply can't forget it, Hikawa – kun. It becomes a motor skill like walking or running!" Kuroshiro giggled.

"Up and down I go! Down and up I go…" Netto made up a rhyme.

"Does it feel good to be guided like this?" Kuroshiro asked Hikawa Jr.

He merely nodded with the head and Kuroshiro grinned as he increased the pace and drove his mouth until the base of his cock before releasing and sounding pleased: Netto had been rubbing his own cock in the meanwhile and he also released thus triggering Hikawa Jr.'s release and having his inner muscles tighten around the toy: Kuroshiro took his cock outta his mouth and Netto detached from his cock which immediately went hard again: Netto made a grin and suddenly set the toy's speed to "MAX" skipping "MEDIUM" altogether: Hikawa Jr. moaned and released again thus staining a good deal of his body: he panted and Netto took the toy out only to begin using it on his nipples.

"Let's see how many times you can release."

"P-please…! Hikari – kun…! Kuroshiro – kun…! That's enough… for one morning…! I'm… overwhelmed!" He moaned.

"Heh, heh. I'll be satisfied with seeing one last release."

"You're… cruel…!"

"Guess so. Or maybe your voice turns me on."

"How can I be so… sexy…?" Hikawa Jr. asked.

"Ask Mother Nature!" Netto grinned as he began to rub the toy around his cock's head.

"N-no… O~h! My penis' head…! Stop…! O~h… O~H!"

"Moan all you want! All rooms are sound-proof so no – one can hear you anyway. And don't worry about Ice Man: Saito – niisan and Legato are playing _Mario Kart: Wii_ with him! It's a game for all ages!"

"Saito – niisan…? You mean… Rock Man…?"

"Yeah. He's like the big brother I'd always wanted to have so he came up with the name 'cause it rhymes, see. It makes us feel like we're more than just Navi and Operator." He smiled at him.

"O~H!" He moaned.

His cock twitched and he released again before fainting: Netto switched off the toy and leant closer to hear him breathing and making a faint snoring sound.

"He fell asleep… How cute…" He giggled.

"Totally. I'd like to try someone else." Kuroshiro admitted.

"Not Enzan. We're gonna save the guy up for later on. But I've got someone in mind already… Let's give it some days' time while we start using Zero for real… The next test is at 35% power, right?"

"Yeah. It won't be ready to go for 100% until August, more or less."

"I don't mind. It's taken close to two years already: two months' time won't make much of a difference. I'm surprised Wan is such a masochist, though. He lets Ice Queen go and use him as toy guy in female domination games… But that's how he is, anyway." He commented with a smile as he stretched.

"Hmmm…"

Kuroshiro suddenly removed the clothes pegs off Hikawa Jr.'s nipples and began to lick them: Netto joined him and they grinned upon spotting how his cock was getting hard _again_: Netto gripped the balls and Hikawa Jr. suddenly woke up with a gasp as he released and some stains fell across his face: they were licked off by both Netto and Kuroshiro.

"How does it feel to have had sex with two guys? Ah wait. We'll try to see how you handle _both_ our cocks inside of you."

"B-both!" He gasped.

"Don't worry! It's possible and the human body seems to have designed itself to be like that. Here we go!" Kuroshiro grinned.

Both stuffed their cocks inside of Hikawa Jr.'s ass and he opened his eyes wide with surprise: Netto began to tease his nipples while Kuroshiro gripped his balls and rubbed his cock as both rubbed their cocks at the same time they pumped in and out.

"O~h! No more…! I'm gonna go crazy!" He pleaded.

"Don't worry. This is the last thing we'll get to do. Next time we'll put anal beads and a 5cm vibrator… And I'm sure that your body will eventually demand for more… It's human nature!" Netto teased.

"Yessir. There are studies proving that."

"No way…!" He groaned.

"Way. Or do you prefer to spend a day listening to Superintendent Oda's humor show sponsored by his Uncle Merton?"

"I guess that's… worse than this… so I'll say… no!" He moaned.

"Wise choice, Hikawa – kun! Besides! We're classmates! I don't wanna hurt you but I want to open your eyes to a thrilling experience: next time you can gear me up and use me in any manner you want!"

"Guess I'll do that…!" He muttered.

"Heh, heh, heh. My word. It'll be fun to see how much skill and intention you can discharge into me…" Netto sounded amused.

"Truly." Kuroshiro added.

"And what do they call this…?"

"S&M! It has a meaning but we prefer saying "Slave & Master" 'cause that's the point of the whole thing… But we're not cruel so we let you feel good too!" Kuroshiro explained.

"G-guess I can't complain then…!"

"Nope. And we're about to go out. But you go first."

"O~h!"

Hikawa Jr. released followed by both guys: they all panted and they pulled out: Kuroshiro began to undo the gear and Hikawa Jr. quickly stretched, jumped off the bed and dressed up in a rush.

"Nervous? Come on! That was enough for us too. Wait for us too and then I'll warp you back home. Heh, heh, heh." Netto chuckled.

"_Hasta la vista_, baby." Kuroshiro joked.

"JEEZ! You two! Behave yourselves!" He protested.

"Blame Uncle Moran and his funny ideas too!" Netto giggled.

"So true."

"In what mess have I gotten into…? But next time I'll be the one in control and then we'll see…! My word!" He warned.

"Come anytime."

Both guys chuckled while Hikawa Jr. sighed in defeat…


	32. Chapter 32: Zero

**Chapter 32: Zero**

09:45 AM (Japan Time), Tuesday July the 2nd…

"… Fua~h… July already… And nothing big is happening. Well. I know I'm busy with this debugging job and all but… Man. I'd wish something crazy actually happened."

"You wanna stir crazy?"

"Huh? Huh! Netto – kun! Been a while! You came for the monthly meeting about Golden Star?"

"Yeah. Why don't you try playing _Heart Gold_ or _Soul Silver_ while we wait until September to get our hands on the 5th Gen?"

"Good idea, yeah… But let's go to the meeting."

"Lead the way, Hacker – sama."

"Hah, hah… When did you turn so sarcastic?"

"Dunno! Guess it's a trend I've picked up."

Obihiro had been yawning as he drank some orange juice from a bottle using a straw: Netto showed up with a broad grin and pulled a joke on him which Obihiro answered with some unimpressed behavior: they then headed upstairs and Rock Man joined them coming from one of the labs with Yuuichirou.

"Man. This "Copy Roid" feels so great… Too bad it has to be kept a highly guarded secret…" He sighed.

"It's for everyone's safety. We don't want these to end up in the hands of criminals, do we, Rock Man?" Yuuichirou reminded him.

"I know, Papa, but… Ah. Never mind. I experienced the real world back when the "Dark Power" crisis anyway." He shrugged.

"Those Golden Star guys gotta be lucky, having access to them and using them…" Netto sounded slightly jealous.

"They build them so they have all the right to."

"Yo! Rock Man. Did Uncle Merton come along with Count Sylvius and the Mazarin Stone plus Holmes' wax statue?"

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Heh, heh. Gotcha. They got cha."

"HUH? Is that a code-message, sir?"

"Nope! Uncle Merton's old-school humor."

"Oh come on."

Oda showed up from the restrooms while having some new jokes ready to fire: Rock Man looked surprised at them but then began to groan in annoyance while rolling his eyes: Netto, Yuuichirou and Obihiro joined him with sighs of defeat while Oda adjusted his hat.

"Let's whack – a – mole!"

"Stop that already, Superintendent!" Meijin complained as he came out of the elevator while sipping some coffee.

"Yeah! Store 'em on the closet!" Punk grumbled.

"On the closet of Baron Gruner?" Oda suggested.

"Oh fuck. I'm fed up with this." Punk cursed.

"Join the club." Enzan sarcastically replied as he suddenly showed up behind Rock Man.

"Oh, Enzan – kun. Been a while. Hey! Blues. Is everything alright down in the Reverse Internet?" He asked.

"Yeah. Shadow Man contacted us to tell us how the place has become quieter and quieter with every passing day: criminals are starting to realize the ground and walls have ears so they pick other spots. Viruses are starting to claim back the place but they're pretty much small fry which is easily handled." Blues explained.

"Whoa. That's some success. Cleansing the Reverse Internet of criminal presence…"

"Leave it to _Ninja_ Man to scare them too." Netto joked.

"Jeez. You know he's named Shadow Man."

The group stepped into the meeting room and they picked their chairs around the table: a bottle of water and some plastic cups had already been placed there.

"Good. July meeting: start. Here's the summary of any noticeable events which have happened during June. Have a look, Hikari – kun." Oda turned serious and handed it over to him.

"Hmmm… Signs of internal jealousy… The secretary turning stricter like a schoolteacher… Letting out the location of some hoax-sellers… And pulling some weird joke on Enzan too… Not much of a deal… Hmmm? Talks of moving to a new location… _Purgatory_… Zero… Some kind of new-gen super-computer…? Why do they want that?" Netto looked up from the report, surprised.

"Obviously, to process all data caught by their sensors and filter it to try to locate terrorists and criminals given some filtering parameters… But it'd seem they've made a recent public announcement yesterday that it was still on testing stage and that it couldn't run at 100% yet but they expected it to be able to by sometime next month. Apparently the best it can do right now is about 45%..." Enzan explained.

"No wonder. You don't make a super-computer run at 100% capacity in just two days. They must be taking notes and comparing how much data it can process while debugging." Rock Man guessed.

"Debugging?" Netto asked.

"Removing bugs or errors which may pop out or have been left behind during the production… And ensure it runs as much error-free as possible…" Rock Man explained.

"Oh yeah… I seem to recall some games' credits add a "debugging" department into them too…" He recalled.

"Maybe Debugging Man will visit us?"

"No." Everyone quickly sentenced.

"Alright, alright. Then I guess a _femme fatale_ like the "Veiled Lodger" will show up to tell us about Abbas Parvas…"

"Isn't that a short Holmes story?" Meijin recalled.

"By the way, Hikari… You've met with Kage. Haven't you?"

"How could you know that? You've been spying on me?"

"No. But Kage sent you two messages. The first it was via Agoras and the second via Hikawa… We did tell you last month he'd had a contact with them given how he'd stumbled upon Kage in the Waterworks… Meijin – san here ran some searches and figured out that both messages meant for you to search a safe place to meet." Enzan explained.

"But you won't accuse me of plotting something against everyone or something like that, right?" His eyes narrowed.

Oda made a gesture directed at Enzan which could be interpreted as "caution" which Enzan spotted so he quickly cleared his throat and calmly showed him his open palms.

"Of course not! You two were good classmates. It was obvious you'd want to meet him after not seeing him in person for over a year." He calmly replied while trying to sound welcoming.

"He didn't tell me anything vital or secret, mind you, apart from some details about that uncle of his."

"You can keep them." Enzan quickly told him.

"I just asked of him how did he get along with his buddies and he told me he really had no trouble with any of them but one could get easily exasperated when dealing with that Felix Qong guy given how he takes about five minutes to acknowledge your presence and finally ask "so?" as if you wanted something outta him instead of just trying to be civilized and say "morning"…" Netto explained.

"Felix Qong. Good. Now we have all of the surnames."

"He also says that Joanne – san person has been behaving as of late because the secretary seems to have set her icy presence into her to cool her off: she now spends a lot of time customizing VRs to make them more realistic taking into account wind speed and her own slight shaking while holding the rifle…" He added.

"I see. What about the other women?"

"He says he respects Suzuki – san because she is a nice person and is also very devoted to her main job while Bertha – san tends to be the kind to tease him around but he knows how to keep his distance and settle a limitation to her teasing acts which never go beyond words."

"Hum. Well. We'd known of that behavior already, so… What does he think of the secretary?" Enzan continued on asking.

"He actually told me he feels like the air turned into the North Pole every time she shows up and she is annoyed: when she does it's better to bow to her and say everything she says or else you then get into trouble because she begins to impose timetables and schedules to keep you busy into doing something useful…"

"Good. This will allow us to make better profiles… He obviously didn't tell you any methods of contacting him, right?"

"No. He just said he'd use a proxy to send me messages but he didn't recommend meeting too much in case someone tried to make up some tale and discredit me…" He began to form a grimace.

"You could go have some Merton ice-cream."

"HUH? Merton ice-cream?" Netto snapped out of it.

"Chocolate & vanilla!" Oda smiled at him.

"Huh! Huh… Hmmm… Yummy…" He began to day-dream.

"This meeting is over. See you around, everyone."

"And next time bring Count Sylvius' good friend Mr. Garrideb."

Oda laughed while everyone sighed in obvious defeat…

11:53 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hmmm? A lot of system data has suddenly gone missing and seems to have gathered in the "lobby" of the system… How odd. A bug or a system error…? I shall go investigate…"

Slur had been hovering inside of a tall "room" in the Cyber World which had several folders and vertical tubes from which raw data poured to then go through some filters each having a tag: the data began sorted out and then flew into each folder: the whole "room" had the feeling of being very tall and that she was hovering close to the very top where a round stone platform made of gray basaltic rock had been set at as some kind of control post from where to oversee the whole system's functions: she had been reading some data in a holographic screen which made her frown and look suspicious.

"It would seem the missing data has picked one of the data input lanes around Lane 7… Let us go."

She jumped down from the platform while opening her arms wide while looking slightly picked by the whole thing: she aimed for the SSE and finally landed on the ground close to a large shaft about two meters wide and which extended downwards for an untold length: she looked around and began to catch some kind of "breathing" sound which made her frown and draw her sword.

"Who goes there?" She demanded.

"Are you the owner of this system?" A male voice asked back.

"It could be said so. Who goes there?"

"If you mean my name I don't have one."

"What are you?" She tried another approach.

"Guess I'm a Net Navi."

"…"Guess"…? Cannot tell it yourself?" She frowned.

"I formed on my own."

"Then…! You must be the missing system data…!"

"Yeah… Guess I should show myself before you delete me thinking I'm an intruder…"

A Net Navi became visible as they dropped down from a ledge about thirty meters upwards and they calmly landed on the ground.

"Hum." Slur muttered.

The Net Navi's main body color was crimson red and his height was about the meter and eighty mark, close if not identical to Slur's own height: his design was rather curious.

To begin with, his head had a large sapphire-colored dome encompassing it as seen from above: some kind of partial facial protection was built on the front: it was a pair of equally reddish "wings" extending NW and NE followed by two thin parallel fang-like ends running down the sides of the face: where the ear-pads would be at, a gray-colored "∅" symbol over a black background was drawn.

His eyes didn't have pupils to them and their irises were a threatening yellowish color: his face's "skin" was metallic in color and he did have a small nose yet his mouth was but a line drawn across it forming a trapeze in the center of the face: it didn't look like it could open and the "breathing" sound was emitted from inside of it.

His upper body had partial chest armor colored red over his blackened "skin" and looked more like a vest than armor: there was an inverted trapeze-shaped opening exposing the base of the neck and the center of the upper chest followed by two round openings in the middle of the chest: the armor ended by drawing a trapeze on its lower edge exposing the "skin" of the waistline: it did form a curve to protect the sides and read parts of the neck too with three small horizontal slits set in a column on the front parts of the neck protection.

The armor over his shoulders appealed as being knives while seen from the front: they had a thin metallic outer edge and the main color on them was red: they were thick and looked strong.

His arms' skin was black in color too while his hands were covered in the usual white "latex" most Navis had: two armlets were attached over the section of his arms extending from the elbows to the top of his hands: each one had a mainly cylindrical form with red and black armor: the black armor was built of a stripped cylinder with the red armor over it: two circular bands kept it on place looping around the elbow and the wrist: the upper part had a diamond-shaped piece over the elbow plus a small sapphire over his hands.

There was a gap around the stomach area which was unshielded in the form of a cross: a pair of white "pants" began on the lower part of that gap and extended until the knees: these "pants" didn't cover the outwards-facing sides of his legs.

His knees had diamond-shaped pieces of armor with a thin vertical stripe across their center protecting them before the boots began: they were rather plain except for a set of three black bands slightly over the ankles of each foot: the thin soils of the boots were also colored black.

Last of all he had a mass of blonde hair spreading from behind his helmet and stopping inches from his ground: this hair spread open as a cape and ended in six pyramidal gaps between each end.

Overall, the Navi looked tall, threatening, and unique.

"So. When did you gain life?" Slur asked.

"About 12 hours ago…" He admitted.

"And yet you have not picked a name yet?"

"No. I've been busy training myself to get a basic understanding of what am I and what surrounds me. I've more or less understood who you are and who built this machine as well as for why yet… There are still many things pending explanation. All files describe you as the strongest of this band, so… Why aren't you the owner of this machine?"

"Because I did not build it… And it does not have an "owner" per se unless you mean the organization itself… But that is fine, anyway. I have just thought of a name for you."

"Yeah? What name?"

"Zero EXE…"

"Zero EXE… Because this machine is named Zero, too?"

"Correct. And you shall be the administrator of it. Maybe it is the will of the system itself, after all… To have a part of it which can behave on its own and independently…" Slur told him.

"Hmmm… Well… Why not… I don't think of myself as competent enough to go for subtle things or fighting in all-out battle…"

"I shall introduce you to some of the highest members… And I am sure they will back up my decision… For the time being your existence will be kept a tight secret until preparations for the rest of the members to move here are completed…" She made a smug smile.

"Sounds fair enough. Sorry if I sound rude to you but that's the way I seem to be… Boss." He scratched the back of his head before shrugging and seemingly improving the title.

"I do not care. You do not have the same views other have. It is good to have someone blunt yet intelligent. Follow me… We shall go speak with a group of persons currently onboard… That reminds me… The machine has already overcome the 50% power mark… And it can analyze a gigabyte of data in about 33 minutes… It shall be reduced to about 16 once it reaches full power… Not bad…" She seemingly remembered.

"Lead the way, Boss."

Slur "flew" upwards and the Net Navi named Zero EXE followed her as well: they reached a huge sealed gateway which Slur unlocked and locked behind them: they climbed up a set of stairs and crossed another massive armored gateway which also locked before ending up in a wide corridor with Security Cubes blocking the way to several "War Points" save for two set next to each other and having the names "KAGE & ANDY" plus "VP _NOIR_ & LEGATO" written on the ground next to them: Slur headed for the second one and motioned for Zero to follow her: he looked around and appeared to be interested.

"Slur – sama. What a surprise, ma'am. May we ask who is that gentlemen thou have brought along?" Kuroshiro asked through a holographic screen: Legato could be seen standing behind him.

"Zero EXE. He formed inside of the super-computer. I thought he could be the perfect Navi to take care of it given how he is part of it."

"Formed inside of the super-computer…!" Both gasped.

"Well?"

"Excellent idea." Kuroshiro made a courteous bow.

"I approve." Legato saluted.

"They do seem to recognize your power, Boss." Zero muttered.

"Obviously. Everyone does. There is no Navi on this world which can even come close to matching it." She made a smug smile.

"Sounds cool, yeah… So you're VP _Noir_ and Legato…"

"Yeah. But when I'm not disguised you can just call me Kuroshiro Oriol as well… There's a motive behind this double identity game but all will become clear in due time… Welcome aboard _Purgatory_."

"_Purgatory_… What's a purgatory?"

"It is an abstract concept… Look it up later. Yet we have picked this name because it has an "aura" and a "feel" to it…" Slur replied.

"Hum. It looks like I've got a lot to learn. Well. There's no rush, really. I shouldn't worry about that." Zero shrugged.

"Good. Then we should begin… If Golden Star is to become the protector of society stability it intends to do there is still a lot of job to be done: by combining our capabilities we shall soon have improved the super-computer to levels never seen before… Let us get to work!"

"O. K., Boss. Let's rumble." He improvised a joke and made a chuckle-like sound.

Slur formed an evil grin while Zero chuckled…


	33. Chapter 33: Fellow conspirer

**Chapter 33: Fellow conspirer**

11:11 AM (Japan Time), Friday July the 5th…

"… Man… I keep on wishing something crazy happened but insofar the only thing we know is that some jerks organizing rooster fights got rounded up by Golden Star yesterday's morning. Kage and Zarashe plus Bertha came in to surprise them while the snipers covered both doorways and both Shade Man and Dark Man formed Cyber Bats which circled around the first floor's windows to impede escape… They then called the police and let them arrest them while they retreated…"

Obihiro was walking down a street while mumbling aloud and sounding slightly disappointed: he stumbled upon the public park and sat on a bench while leaving his backpack next to him: he rummaged inside and took out a _tankobon_ which he began to read as if to get distracted: he didn't notice someone spying on him from behind a nearby tree.

_Heh, heh, heh. Today will be fun, yessir…_

"Yo! Obihiro. What's up?"

"Oh. Netto – kun. Are you fine?"

"Of course. Guess Boredom Man has showed up to try to challenge your will and wits, Obihiro."

"Oh come on. That's some joke by Superintendent Oda."

"Heh, heh. Say… Did ya see that golden Program – kun over there? He must be the ambassador of Golden California!"

"Huh? Where…?"

Netto suddenly showed up from behind and leant on the bench while smiling and joking: Obihiro didn't look surprised by his jokes but then Netto pointed forward: Obihiro looked up but there was nothing so he turned to look at Netto who'd seated next to him and was whistling a tune while using his hands to hold his head.

"Netto – kun. That was lame."

"Oh, I guess."

"You look different." He suddenly looked suspicious.

"Oh yeah? Care to elucidate, Holmes?"

"Ijuuin – kun's been influencing you." He guessed.

"Enzan? Guess Influence Man orbits 'round 'im, yeah."

"Please… Stop with those lame Net Navi names."

"Say… Have you ever heard of something named "Synchro Chip", Obihiro?" Netto suddenly asked.

"No. What's that? Did Kage tell you about it?"

"He showed it to me."

"Why didn't you tell us at the meeting?"

"I forgot."

"So, what is it about?" Obihiro asked.

"I thought you'd had an idea. He merely said it was "cool" and that it "rocks" but didn't go into details. He looked very smug and confident as if it was his trump card…" He trailed off.

"Maybe they developed it in secret and our insider hasn't been shown or told about that: else we'd have heard of it by now."

"I suspected as much." Rock Man admitted.

"Say, Obihiro. Have you ever found a differently-colored Pocket Monster in any game?" Netto asked.

"Once or twice… They're very rare. Their number is like 1 in close to 8200 so you gotta be truly lucky…" Obihiro admitted.

"Whoa. And that comes set, right?"

"Yeah. That number doesn't change."

"Pity. I'd liked to have one… Guess I'll have to be lucky."

"By the way… Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Why'd you ask?" Netto looked surprised.

"If you've been meeting with Kage and all there could be someone trailing you and maybe some accomplice of his evil uncle could try to use you to get to him…" Obihiro whispered.

"Don't worry. He picks me up on a place and we use a set of three passwords which only someone of our class would know. Besides, his nanomachines' readout is transmitted to me and I can check his blood and such to make sure he's the real one." He whispered back.

"Oh… Say… It may sound selfish, but… I'd like to have a talk with him one of these days. I would love to know of something new and revolutionary which could keep my mind busy…" He admitted.

"Then I could bring you to him in today's meeting at 12:00 PM. I've told Mama I'll be having lunch with him so I've got all day free. And besides she likes seeing me going out with my friends and all." He offered.

"Delighted!" Obihiro sounded eager.

"Follow me!"

Netto lead Obihiro out of the park and they got to a public parking building: they stepped into the second basement after going down the stairs connecting to the street and they headed for a spot where the black Toyota was parked at: Netto stopped and signaled for Obihiro to crouch and take cover behind a column as he drew his PET.

"White gallop to black puma, white gallop to black puma…" Netto called out in a hushed tone of voice.

"This is black puma. Over." A familiar voice replied.

"The Champion's mantle went missing." He suddenly announced.

"The Mayor's cow must've eaten it 'cause it was green and it thought it was lettuce." The voice replied with a hint of amusement.

"The secretary says you'll get stuck mid-sentence."

"Oh yeah? I'll show 'im how you talk to a guy of Paris! Getting stuck mid-sentence… Hah!" The voice sounded challenging.

"Hello? No, his secretary… WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

"Who is it, Lizard?"

"Someone who wants to talk to you regarding some paper cow because a policeman ate the city hall's lettuce…" Netto played the dumbfounded who couldn't believe what he'd been told.

"Hand it over." The voice calmly told him.

Obihiro was having a hard time muffling his giggling and he looked totally amused by the exchanged.

"Yes! That's me! Speak slowly, my friend!"

"A joke?" Netto kept on playing the skeptical.

"The Labron policeman! Yes, I remember… A ghost tale? Yes, I believe you… Tell me… Please spell it… C-O-R-M-A-C…"

"Cormac-Fontan, yes! Sext to the near… Xest to the rane… I mean, next to the sea!" Netto had trouble spelling the word right.

"You're pretty good at chatting, ya know." A new voice commented in the background.

"PTAF! OUCH!" Netto imitated the sound of a punch.

"Should've hired your cow as a secretary! I know it's an animal but at least it's silent!" The voice grumbled.

"… Alright! Hikari – kun. I see you've brought our young genius along so come onboard. Next stop: _Purgatory_ and the summer party. Heh, heh, heh!" Kage chuckled over the radio.

"Yessir! Let's go, Obihiro."

"N-no wonder… Only someone like you could remember all of those dialogues… Anyone else would find them so ridiculous that they'd try something random instead…" Obihiro giggled.

"See? I told you he's a clever guy."

"Sure thing…"

"Come onboard!"

Obihiro climbed into the back seat behind the passenger seat occupied by Netto and spotted a bottle of water set on the middle seat which looked cool: Kage looked at him through the rear-view mirror and formed a welcoming smile.

"If you're thirsty you can have some of it, Obihiro – kun. Hikari – kun told me you're a very clever guy. Maybe I'll let you into a little something we've developed… You can keep secrets, right?"

"Yeah. And… Eh… Well. I guess I should admit that I'm the one who came up with the traps for Zarashe on the Metro station…"

"I ended up figuring it out with some research. And I know we were mistaken in suspecting Kendo but… We aren't perfect. Let's roll out already." Kage grinned.

"Alright! I'm impatient already…"

Obihiro sipped some water while the car began to drive down the avenue: he suddenly let out a yawn and stretched.

"Oi! Have you been pushing yourself again, Obihiro?" Netto called out while looking concerned.

"A bit, I guess… I spend too much time in Nico Nico Douga…"

"A good site, yeah. You'll find a lot of Japanese stuff there." Kage confirmed with a smile.

"Hmmm… Guess I'm gonna nap for a while… Wake me up when we're there… Fua~h… Hmmm… Huh…"

He began to snore and both guys grinned at each other.

"Success!" Netto whispered.

"Heh, heh, heh." "Kage" chuckled.

12:26 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Setup's complete. Doesn't he look cute and sexy?"

"Oh yeah. Man. Today we're gonna go for a more exciting approach: it was a good idea to pick him because he's still a bit _chibi_ and guys like him look so cute and horny… I'll praise you, Netto – kun. I can't wait to see him struggling and begging…"

"Thanks, Oriol."

Netto and Kuroshiro were looking at Obihiro as he was seated on the northern end of the king-sized bed and being geared up.

They'd firstly placed some kind of leather black blindfold consisting of two identical curved pieces the surface of which had two adjustable thickness bands on them: a thin band circled Obihiro's forehead and two intercrossed bands helped suspend the set over his nose: a black leather band circling around his jaw ended in a red plastic spheroid filled with holes muffling his mouth and having two triangle-shaped metallic ends to attach it.

His arms had two leather bands set close to the shoulder plus long black leather gloves reaching past the elbows: they were aiming upwards and cuffed to a chain forming in the wall and climbing down.

His legs had two bands connecting the two ends above and below the knees thus keeping them spread open.

His main body was a different tale, though: a collar had been placed around his neck and it connected to a band circling the skin below the armpits using a small piece of leather attached to a central ring.

There were another four bands converging on the middle of his body below the nipples and a last one encompassing his waistline.

His nipples had two small capsule-shaped pink objects with a wire attached to them with cello-tape: the cables ended in two rectangular remotes with different modes: they both currently were on the "OFF" mode.

His cock had been turned hard and it had a ring with a band running down the middle of his balls as it was installed on the base of it: another two pink-colored capsules had been strapped to the sides of it with their wires heading towards the remotes.

There was a thin greenish cylinder with a purple ring on its top and from which a string of purplish spheroids barely one centimeter wide extended while heading inside of his cock through the urethra: they could be spotted from the outside making a bulk protruding outwards.

As if all of the above hadn't been enough, a huge pink-colored imitation cock had been stuffed on his ass: the base of it had a switch which was also in the "OFF" position for the time being.

In short: he looked totally powerless and the setup was obviously thought to drive him to his limits.

"Let's begin with the nipples, the cock will follow and then the ass. In the meanwhile we fuck each other and moan aloud to further tease him but we gotta time it so that we don't go over the five minutes mark. We're just playing a game! He can't complain." Netto grinned.

"Sure thing. And then we'll tease him with the videos about "Cross Fusion" and the experimental data…" Kuroshiro smirked.

He and Netto picked one remote each and turned them off at the "MAX" speed to make them vibrate: Obihiro didn't seem to notice anything yet so they continued with the remotes of the vibrators attached to his cock's sides: these ones did make him wake up and look around in a confused manner but then Netto turned on the huge thing on his ass: Obihiro began to convulse and agitate.

"This tone's a 10-cm big thing… It'll make him see the white world. Heh, heh, heh. This is the summer party!" Netto grinned.

"Sure thing…"

"I go first. Get on your fours, Oriol. I wanna try hard."

"Roger, Netto – kun."

Kuroshiro climbed into the bed while facing northwards to Obihiro's right and got into his fours while Netto sat on his knees and softly grabbed the sides of Kuroshiro's body before stuffing his cock inside of him: he began to pump and Kuroshiro moaned aloud: Netto grinned and used the right hand to grab his cock and rub it while gripping his balls with the left one thus making Kuroshiro's moans rise in volume.

"Unh… More… Netto – kun… Fuck me more… I wanna feel you inside of me! Please!" He begged.

"You won't change." Netto chuckled.

He glanced at Obihiro to see him swinging his body left and right in vain as his cock remained as hard as rock given how he was unable to ejaculate: Netto smiled and suddenly turned Kuroshiro 90º right while gripping his balls hard: Kuroshiro let out a large moan and released thus staining Obihiro's body while Netto filled his insides.

"T-two minutes have passed, Netto – kun."

"Good. Can you hear us, Obihiro? If you hang in there another three minutes we'll reward you. This is a test to ensure you're a strong man capable of bearing our little secret… I'll give you some explanations on the days to come…" Netto whispered.

Obihiro seemed to hear him so he stopped struggling: by now he'd begun to drool and he was incapable of stopping it: Netto coated his fingers in Kuroshiro's white stuff and began to trace paths across his legs' and arms' skin to tease him.

"Alright, Oriol. Sit in your knees and I'll go in vertically. Today I feel like you're pretty cock-hungry…" Netto instructed.

"O. K., Netto – kun."

He complied and Netto slowly stuffed his cock inside of him while pumping in and out: Kuroshiro began to rub his cock and grip his own balls while Netto teased his nipples: Kuroshiro kept on purposely moaning aloud and Obihiro looked like he was in a trance given his renewed spasms and agitations.

"Almost four minutes have passed…!"

"Good."

Netto kept on pumping in and out while teasing Kuroshiro: he groaned and ended up releasing again while making sure to aim his release at Obihiro's face to stain it: he seemed to react to the sensation and Netto began to draw paths across his cheeks and nose after he'd filled Kuroshiro's ass with his cum again.

"24 seconds left…"

"Did ya hear that, Obi – chan? You're almost there. And believe me when I say I've gone through this before. Four or five times. And I've come out alright so I believe you'll come out alright too." He whispered as he slipped his right hand's index finger into the ring.

"13 seconds left…"

Obihiro seemed to be getting anxious given how his spasms turned more violent but Netto kept on waiting as he drew paths across his balls as well plus sliding the vibrator on his ass slightly deeper inside.

"5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Time's up!"

"Welcome to the white world."

Netto quickly pulled the beads out at the same time he unfastened the bands around the base of his cock: Obihiro arched his body backwards and sprayed his whole body with the fountain of white stuff which came out in a rush: both Kuroshiro and Netto turned off the vibrators and his cock began to stiffen: they then removed the blindfold and ball-gag and found out that he'd fainted.

"How cute." Kuroshiro giggled.

"Totally."

"Let's un-gear him and dress him back… Then we'll have a nice friendly chat with him and make of him a fellow conspirer."

"Alright, Bossing Boss of Bosses."

"Please…" He giggled at it.

Both started to remove the gear which Kuroshiro stuffed into a red-colored suitcase: he left it on the cupboard while Netto picked Obihiro's clothes from a chair nearby and began to dress him back up: he then picked him by the armpits and seated him in the chair while he and Kuroshiro also dressed up again.

"From now on it'll be just the two of us but we'll return to our pact of alternating between "slave" and "master" each week. I'm going to be "master" next week but you can have fun with me on Sunday 'cause I'll drop by then." Netto reminded him as he zipped his vest.

"Heh, heh, heh. We're so smart, really. Hey, Netto – kun… You really like me, right?" Kuroshiro asked.

"Did I ever say I didn't?" Netto amusedly replied.

"Of course. You've got a point. I sometimes forget about these little details, really…" He rolled his eyes.

"Heh. I can picture Legato's big cock inside of Saito – niisan's rosy small ass… But I don't envy them: they make a good couple. Maybe we should let them have Hikawa – kun to play with one day. That would add some variety, don't you think so?" Netto suggested.

"Why not…"

"And one last thing."

"What?"

Netto suddenly jerked Kuroshiro towards him and shared a passionate kiss which Kuroshiro returned: they then split apart.

"I'm unpredictable." He teased with a grin.

"So it'd seem. But I won't be caught with the pants down next time around, Netto – kun!" Kuroshiro challenged.

Both of them shook hands and then giggled as they looked at Obihiro's sleeping face…


	34. Chapter 34: Summer vacations

**Chapter 34: Summer vacations**

10:23 AM (Japan Time), Monday July the 8th…

"… Hum, hum, hum…"

"Found cha!"

"Oh my. Joanne – san. It has been a long time, my lady."

"Stop with the Edo Era show. What have cha been up to? Cha can say online course because it's already July!"

"Helping Boss in one little thing or another… But we did do that strategy to shut down that gang with the fighting roosters, right?"

"Che. True. I got to take two jerks down. But that doesn't change that cha always pop up whenever cha want to."

"Is there a rule saying when we must show up?"

"Che."

"See, Joanne – chan… Before blurting out random complains try to do some background research, will you?"

Kage came out of his room in the Golden Star HQ only to be confronted by Joanne in the corridor: he remained calm while Joanne began to question him: Kage pointed out the flaws on her accusations and Lily rolled her eyes while Andy remained silent.

"Cha! Vampire fan! What have cha been doing, huh?"

"Huh? Me? Vampire fan? Tell that to Shade Man and Dark Man will you, Joanne – san? Just because my eyes' irises are a mix that doesn't mean I'm a vampire fan." He defended himself.

"Cha have been to a casino?"

"Casino? Me? I'm not even 16! And the legal age is 20!"

"Joanne – chan! Why won't you accept that they're just doing normal things? Why do you have to look for a conspiracy everywhere?"

"My aunt says men are always thinking about being above you so cha have to remind them who's in charge!"

"No offense to your aunt, Joanne – san, but… Would that apply to the other members by extension?" Kage asked.

"Oh damn." She cursed.

"SEE? Do you want to get scolded by the secretary AGAIN?"

"Hell no!" She snapped.

"Then BEHAVE! Be an adult! Aren't you one?"

"I am, damn them all!"

"WHAT is this SCANDAL?" A commanding annoyed voice demanded from close by.

"Oh shit."

"Hmpf! You brought that into yourself."

"You again. Explain."

The secretary had showed up and she sounded annoyed: Kage and Andy stepped back while Joanne directed an annoyed face at her but couldn't remain like that for too long given how she broke into sweat and also stepped back.

"That man! That man's too suspicious!"

"Kage? Suspicious of what?"

"Of screwing up with bitches!"

"Not again! Why cannot you think of something else? Kage is a man who knows his place. He has his own honor and reputation to defend. If he comes and goes then so be it. He has his life. No – one is obliged to remain in this HQ. And if you do not feel like abiding by the rules which are here to ensure civilized behavior you can pack and go home."

"But my aunt says that…!"

"No offense to such a person, but… I doubt that she has anything to do with this. We are speaking about _you_ and not your aunt. You try to use her as an excuse but your own problem is that you are paranoid and have your own frustrations which you take out on Kage for no reason. He has done a good job insofar. He never says he is above you or has criticized your acts insofar." The secretary continued.

"Oh come on! Save me the prosecutor's speech!"

"Maybe Vice President _Noir_ will remind you that there are forces trying to discredit Golden Star. Their desperate tricks have failed insofar. But if word of this comes out then they shall use you as an excuse to say we are all a group of fools who only know to infighting and do not try to have a positive attitude. Do you _really_ want our reputation which we have built with so much care over all these months go down in just two days because of _you_?" She increased her voice's volume.

"N-no! I don't want to end up being used by some filthy news editors as some cover story!" She cursed.

"Then BEHAVE and CALM DOWN! You have no proof of what Kage does and vain accusations can be labeled as a campaign to smear his good name. No one else will support you because they already know how you are. I shall speak with Vice President _Noir_ NOW and you need to behave or else you know what shall happen. Do not test my patience for much longer or I shall see to it that you are imposed a new martial law in which you are forbidden to come out of your quarters whenever Kage or someone else you get into a fight with are around. DO YOU GET MY POINT?" The secretary threatened.

"Che! Fine, fine!" Joanne tried to shoo her away.

"You have been WARNED."

She turned around and headed down the corridor for _Noir_'s office door: she knocked on it and Legato opened the door.

"Yes, ma'am?" He politely asked.

"I need to talk with _Noir_ – dono."

"Please come in, ma'am. I heard the discussion. Joanne – san! Please: be civilized." _Noir_ called out.

"Alright, _Danna_…!" She grumbled.

The door closed and Legato came out while sighing and scratching the back of his helmet: he then walked over to them.

"So, Andy – kun… You've been busy?"

"Well, I wouldn't say busy… More like distracted. Going into the Cyber World to find guys and girls with whom to exchange Pokémon is distracting. We're trying to complete our _Platinum_ Pokémon Encyclopedia before _Black & White_ come out in September. That new green-haired Trainer named "N" and the "Plasma Gang"… It looks like we're in for a cool game!" Andy grinned.

"Sure thing." Legato sounded amused.

"Oh! By the way. The new Pokémon researcher, Araragi – hakase, is a female this time around." Kage let out.

"Ah! At last! What the fuck took them so long? The last one was uglier than the very first guy, that Ookido geezer…" She grumbled.

"Dunno. Ask them." Kage shrugged-

"Of course I will. While aiming this toy of them…" She grinned as she lifted her sniper rifle (which had been aiming SE towards the ground) and aimed it skywards.

"Don't fret: the safety's on." Lily quickly told them.

"Even so, be careful of where you aim that thing. We might have an accident one of these days." Legato warned.

"… Heh! I've gotten an idea. I'm gonna draw a picture in which that gal of the new games screws over the guy. Mwah, hah, hah!"

Joanne suddenly rushed away and entered her room: Lily looked bewildered and the other three rolled their eyes while sighing in defeat at her random moods.

"Oh well. Let's let her be." Andy muttered.

"Well. Yeah… If she needs me she'll call. I'm off to doing some Virus Busting in the Virus Simulator." Lily shrugged.

"Hello there, ladies and gentlemen."

"Joel! It's been _ages_."

"Victor - kun. You look younger than last time around."

"Teasing me, Andy – kun?"

"Maybe he is!"

Agoras and Victor showed up on that moment: Agoras carried a folder with some documents inside of it under his right arm and his glasses had that peculiar shine to them accompanied by his creepy smile: Victor looked in a good mood as well and lifted an eyebrow at Andy's little joke: Legato got amused too.

"You'll have to excuse me, but I need to bring these documents to President Hades. Later, gentlemen."

"See ya around the clocking clock!" Victor improvised.

"Patent it and Video Man will beg of you to let him use it for his new movie." Andy joked next.

"My. That'd be lovely."

Agoras knocked on the door labeled "President Hades" and there was a little cough.

"Come in."

"President Hades, sir? The report on the status of "Point H"…"

"Excellent, gentlemen. Please have a seat."

"Thank you, sir."

The door was closed behind them and both Kage and Andy looked intrigued while Legato smiled.

"Could it be that we're gonna move?" Kage eagerly asked.

"Sorry. But not yet. We estimate another month's time before all is ready and set. We're arranging for some of the details…"

"Oh, I see."

"Ahem, ahem. Here's the newspaper, Boss… 250Z!"

"Hum… Here you have… My! I got this weird hole in the middle of it again…"

"Yeah… Guess the printing machine is broken… Heh, heh!"

"… Huh! "Canelo"! You let someone rip the newspapers off your teeth again? You're so idiotic, really!"

"Video Man, Burner Man and Needle Man…?" Andy wondered as he glanced at a rusted speaker.

"No doubt. And it sounds like Boss' secretary actually gets his newspapers for free by ripping them off a dog carrying it…"

"Why! They've hijacked "Boeing 919" coming from Calasparra!"

"Hmpf! It wasn't mine to begin with…!"

"Wasn't his to begin with… That's his reason for not caring for what happened with that flight?" Kage laughed.

"… But… Don't you remember? Mr. Super is coming back on that flight, you know! We gotta do something!"

"Oho. Their boss got hijacked!" Andy grinned.

"You're right, Boss! Why didn't I think of it before…?"

"That's what I wanted to see: a fast reaction to the news!"

"He'll take a while to come back… _If_ he comes back… So I've got time to open his liquor cabinet… He's got an incredibly sweet whisky!"

"Mwah, hah, hah! The secretary wanted to take profit of that chance to sip off some of his boss' whisky!" Legato laughed.

"Come on! Now you wanna pretend you hate whisky too! I know you love to have some sips from time to time!"

"Brrr! The newspaper's hole takes up much of the article… I'll switch on the TV to see if there's any follow-up."

"News-casting Two! The leader of the Berber delegation in the ANU (note to our listeners: ANU is a parody of the UN) got an abscess in the duodenum which impedes him from seating down so the delegate behind him complains that he can't see and…!"

"By all the…! B-but… What have you done to my TV set?"

"The "Morrazo F. C." is to blame, Boss!"

"The "Morrazo~"…?"

"Yeah… Yesterday evening, when they scored their seventh goal I happened to kick the machine and…"

"He kicked it, fell from the table and broke it so he then had to improve something to make it look like it was working?" Andy deduced.

"Yessir! The only thing left intact was the screen and outer frame: he then tried to use a puppet but ran out of ideas and the Boss caught up by tossing him a medieval armor axe included. And he did throw him a TNT barrel with the fuse lit before." Video Man laughed.

"Brrr! Let's try the radio next…"

"Well… The Andorra Navy has reached the port of Soria while on a courteous visit and…"

"Let me guess: the radio's broken too." Suzuki suddenly joined them after coming outta her room with Akemi.

"Tennis news! The Norwegian Cassius Clay defeats the Japanese Monshe Dayan in eight sets and…and…and…" The voice began to falter and grow afraid.

"So! Then! A Norwegian player beats a Japanese player in a tennis match, eh?" Akemi giggled.

"S-see, Boss… When the TV broke down I listened to the broadcasting of the match through the radio… And when they scored their ninth goal I tossed it out through the… the… the window, yeah… And now it just doesn't work that well…"

"Tossed the radio out through the window…!" Suzuki looked scandalized at the whole deal.

"Man! You sure can get moody when ya want to!"

"Huff, huff… Quick, Repóllez! Lend me your portable radio to listen to the news!"

"Who'd said you were that selfish! Ya don't have enough with your TV, your own radio and the newspapers Mortadelo brings you every day, huh?"

"So the secretary is named Mortadelo." Legato guessed.

"Excellent deduction." Victor joked as he came out of the room.

"I think that someone here will taste some action." Agoras hinted.

"Yeah, man… Ya see… I didn't say anything weird and… He sure got furious!"

"Don't tell me…! He's got a terrible mood today…"

"…the hijacked plane will refuel in our airport before keeping on with its scheduled trip to Greenland and so…"

"Alright! We gotta use this chance to free Mr. "Super" and catch the hijacker! MORTADELO~!"

"Ya called, Boss?"

"But… What's with that disguise, you twit?"

"Ah! No! It's nothing! Heh, heh! I thought ya called me 'cause you found the portable TV which I used to finish seeing the match…"

"My portable TV…? What happened to my portable TV…? MY PORTABLE TV~!" Needle Man screamed in despair.

"Whoa. The portable TV too." Akemi whistled in surprise.

"I knew it: I shouldn't have taken out the canned man disguise!"

"That was so funny, really. I know people get upset over a soccer match but hearing that this "Morrazo F. C." scored over nine goals… It's obviously an exaggeration, I know, but our fellow Mortadelo broke three devices on his outburst of anger!" Kage chuckled.

"… Thus we agree on it."

"Indeed, ma'am."

The secretary finished her interview with _Noir_ and walked off while _Noir_ sighed in defeat.

"We've had to draw timetables for Joanne – san and we'll have to impose restrictions on her… Luckily we can suggest a competition between she and Felix – kun at the VR simulator. There'll be some more field missions as well." He explained.

"So! What happened with the hijacked flight, guys?" Legato asked.

"After several fruitless attempts to get in and accidentally pumping the plane's fuel in through the restroom the twit of Mortadelo just thought of using a burner to cut their way in from below, always forgetting that's now how you enter the plane. The plane caught fire and in the ensuing confusion the hijacker vanished but Mr. Super did chase them with an axe yelling "I'm gonna kill them" while Filemón wanted to fry Mortadelo up _paella_ style." Video Man summed up.

"By all the… That comic's crazy, really." Andy looked bewildered.

"This comic is like that: no matter what happens the guys and gals won't just die: they may be turned into something as thin as paper but they'll survive!" Burner Man laughed.

"Shah, shah, sha~h! Diehard jerks I name 'em!"

"By the way, Miquel – kun… Regarding "CF"… We're gonna make a little demonstration at the "Cave" this weekend. Gotcha?"

"… Heh. And let's show it off to them, yeah."

"… Huh! What? A private two-man plane…? We're heading over there ASAP! Mortadelo! Filemón! Urgent mission! Where are you at? My! How poor… They're sleeping! Well! That's obvious… Seeing how they only sleep about fourteen daily hours at home… Nothing, no matter what sound it is, can wake up them. Like angels! I'll try to wake them up softly without startling them…"

"… _Fourteen daily hours_ is just "only"…?" Kage was scandalized.

"And that tune sounds like he's actually going to do the opposite of what he's saying." Agoras deduced.

"WAKE UP, YOU TWO! We've got an urgent mission in the airport! Move it! The hijacker has stolen a private two-man plane which he suddenly wants to use to flee the country… You MUST stop them! We'll use my car to get to the airport! Climb up! There you'll have another faster plane to catch up with them and… Huh? What in the…? Where have they gone off to? Mortadelo! Filemó~n!"

"Here we are, Mr. "Super"! Since you said "climb up" then… Well! If you really meant "climb down" then we can't guess it…!"

"You're gonna tell me they climbed _into the car's roof_?" Suzuki looked skeptical by now.

"Bravo." Video Man applauded.

"Guess they _were_ half-asleep." Akemi didn't find it funny.

"Hey! Listen! This thing's got some pretty wide seats but… You forgot to install the controls!"

"Why don't you try climbing down from the wings and get into the cockpit…?" Burner Man sounded pretty annoyed by now.

The group broke into laughter except for the girls who seemed to find the whole deal to be extremely silly.

"And soon enough… Terror will descend upon the "cave"…!"


	35. Chapter 35: The Cave

**Chapter 35: The "Cave"**

20:44 PM (Indiana Time), Saturday July the 13th…

"… Strolling and wandering does Dingo of the bravado…"

"Stop with that rhyme already, Dingo. It's almost 21:00 PM and I've been hearing for it all day long."

"Well. Lately I feel like there's a lot of tension so…"

"Attention: Mr. Dingo please report to Mr. Barrel. Please don't forget to bring your _machete_ knife."

"What _machete_ knife?"

"Dunno."

"Heh, heh, heh… Mr. Troublemaker is about to descend."

"This place's walls are so thin, really."

"Shah, shah, sha~h!"

"That voice… I've heard it somewhere before!"

Dingo was patrolling a corridor of the Ameroupe Army Base and was humming a rhyme along the way which Tomahawk Man obviously didn't like: Dingo grinned and stopped when some voices rang out through the speakers: Tomahawk Man frowned.

"Coming in… 5! 4! 3! 2! 1! _Let's rock_!"

Four simultaneous tremors rocked the base from the outside and everyone stopped what they were doing, surprised: before they could react, though, some kind of energy field invaded the space and climbed up the walls while spreading across the floor and ceiling: all colors on them became a random mix and lost their metallic grey coloring: one tried to touch the wall but nothing happened.

"What's this?" Someone asked.

"Dunno. Some Hollywood special effect?"

"Could be, yeah…"

"Too bad! You guys lose the prize." A voice rang out.

"The prize was a football ball signed by the Kentucky Raiders."

"Shah, shah, sha~h! And ya just happened to guess wrong!"

A wall exploded and everyone gasped in disbelief as Video Man, Burner Man and Needle Man came out of it while having smug smiles drawn across their faces.

"_Start_! Wind Cutter!"

"Strike Burner!"

"Needle Cannon!"

"Run!"

"What in the fuck?"

"Those guys are real!"

"That's impossible!"

"Who the hell are those?"

"A~h! Tomahawk Man! What's going on?"

"Golden Star! That Needle Man guy who showed up here ages ago is part of that group named Golden Star!"

"But how did they come out in the real world?"

"This strange energy field seems to be the reason but I dunno if it can be disabled somehow."

"Can't you come out too?"

"No. My data is different from theirs."

Everyone ran away while the three Navis hit the walls, floor and ceiling: Dingo began to discuss with Tomahawk Man who got a hold of what was going on around them.

"Yo. Goin' somewhere, Guv'nor?"

"Well. Yeah. To the shelter and…! Who are ya?"

"Machete Man."

"E~H?"

"Kidding."

"Then who are ya?"

"Golden Star. Kage Miquel."

"Kage Miquel? And what's with that outfit?"

"Name it "Cross Fusion", Dingo. So! Did you get promoted for luring Rock Man here through lies and deception?"

"I didn't do that!"

"You sure did: else I wouldn't have bothered to come here."

"Look, I couldn't know that Colonel…"

"…would lock him up. You did and you lied to Rock Man saying you'd protect him."

Dingo had ended up stumbling upon "Cross Fusion" Kage and Andy who began to scold them after some initial scolding.

"Yo! Miquel. Need a hand?"

"Sure, Zarashe."

The "Cross Fusion" of Zarashe and Beta X joined the party.

His "Cross Fusion" design added ruby diamonds to the knee-guards and the armor around the elbows: some purple-colored patterns on the upper chest formed an angel's silhouette while the legs had the _Kanji_ for "senshi" ("warrior") drawn on them.

His helmet had had a slight redesign too to include a sparkling purple five-pointed star on its forehead.

Lastly, he had a dull green and metallic gray backpack with two jets attached to his back which obviously allowed him to fly.

"So! Where's the silly fan guy?" Kage questioned.

"Silly fan guy?" Dingo looked bewildered.

"Jeez. Your boss."

"Mr. Barrel…? Well… Dunno." Dingo replied.

"He's gotta be around here: his computer didn't say anything about having to travel away." Andy's voice whispered.

"Wanna search for him?" Zarashe offered.

"Do us that favor. Lure them out." Kage requested.

"Delighted." Beta X sneered.

"Where's the Navi's voice coming from? Where are the PETs? I don't get it at all! Why did you attack us? Aren't you supposed to be pacifists or something like that?" Dingo asked in a rush.

"We've fused. And we ain't pacifists. We just bring stability to society but in order to prove how above we are over those fools out there then we gotta show what we can do." Kage summed up.

"And you picked us because of what happened YEARS ago?"

"Complain to Slur – sama. Her Grace decided this."

"Slur? That Navi who beat Colonel?" Tomahawk Man gasped.

"Correct. Her Grace is a genius in case you hadn't caught on that fact as of yet, Mr. Friend-seller."

"OI! I didn't sell him out! I was just obeying!" Dingo replied.

"You used his _naiveté_. That's a sin."

"A sin? Ever since _when_ is that a sin?"

"Ever since ancient times! You nitwit!"

"Say that again, you cosplay punk?" Dingo grumbled.

As a response, Kage formed the Hyper Cannon Battle Chip and shot one blast at the ground where it left a scorching mark: Dingo turned pale and stepped back.

"Don't anger me in purpose." He icily warned.

"We'd beaten you a million times already but Slur – sama's orders were absolute. Her Grace's orders are always justified and noble. Her Grace was a trustee of Serenade after all!" Andy grumbled.

"Oi! Pencil-pusher! Bite my leg!"

"Wait!"

"Oho. Here comes the biggest of all sinners!"

"Another one!"

"Yessir. Catching up, Barrel? Your sins are chasing you and they won't rest until you've paid for them in a proper way. And this how it'll be: we've just proven how useless you really are."

Barrel came in while trying to catch up with "Cross Fusion" Zarashe who quickly stood next to Kage while keeping his eyes on Dingo: he gulped and stepped back while Barrel made a grimace.

"Golden Star again…! Where's Slur!" Colonel grumbled.

"Why? Wanna get your ass busted a billion times again?" Andy shot back with obvious taunting.

"How dare you!" Colonel hissed.

"Her Grace is clearly over your level. Didn't we prove that already, Ex-Colonel?" Andy grumbled.

"I won't give up until I defeat her!" Colonel exclaimed.

"Give it up: you're out of your league. A new generation has risen: this is what Serenade envisioned too. A new generation to replace this rusted and decaying generation…"

"Who are you to judge us?" Colonel demanded.

"Discuss that with Her Grace."

"Indeed. If Serenade could bestow judgment so can I. You have been foolish for too long but all of that is about to end. Your monopoly of power is about to crumble. And then no nation shall have the monopoly of power. None. It shall belong to society: out of reach from politicians and military who toy with it…"

"Damn it."

Slur had showed up behind Barrel who turned around and cursed upon seeing her direct a bored face at him while drawing her yellow sword which she aimed at the floor.

"Are you threatening us?" Colonel demanded.

"No. This is a warning of the reality which will soon skip you and spread across the world…" Slur dully replied.

"What do you mean by "soon"?"

"Less than two months' time from now…"

"Less than two months' time…! How's that possible?"

"Preparations. Calculations. Resources. Methods. We have calculated and prepared in advance and nothing can alter this schedule. Soon your intelligence – gathering agencies will find out that their information shall not be exclusive to them but to other institutions as well. Over nations shall get the same information too… But all of them shall have to buy the rights to access such information… In an auction…" She explained.

"An auction… To buy the rights to access information…? You mean that if they don't buy they'll be left powerless?"

"Of course not. Just that they shall not have this already filtered information ready… Were it to be something urgent then we would rather hand it to the police forces for a quicker response…"

"So that's your "master plan" so as to speak?"

"Correct. You do seem to retain some instinct."

"Ma'am! Allow us to remove some tension." Video Man called out through one of the PA speakers.

"Go on ahead. Let us retreat: our job is done. Remember, Barrel and Colonel… You will be left behind. No matter how hard you try. And so will the Sharo Army… They have committed sins as well… These youth are the future. That one there belongs to an era which will soon be gone and only fools will remember…" Slur dramatically told them.

Two columns of light formed at Kage's and Zarashe's feet to then expand skywards: they directed glares at both Barrel and Dingo before disappearing along with Slur: the color field (a "Dimensional Area") vanished and everyone sighed in relief.

"This is the Superintendent… Is that the Airport Director? Any news?"

"Yes… A recently inaugurated "McDouglas DC 20"…! It's vanished off the radar!"

"By all the… Was it fully fueled?"

"Oh no! Just four drops, you know…"

"Then it can't have gone too far! We'll find it! Mortadelo! Filemón! Quick: I want you to come to my office in the next 10 seconds!"

"What's that? Some radio adaptation?" Dingo wondered.

"Sounds like it…" Tomahawk Man muttered.

"… Mortadelo! Filemón! Where have you gone off to? You're starting to make me feel annoyed! Huh…? Totally! I feel totally annoyed!" Burner Man grumbled.

"H-hi, Mr. Super… See… We were finishing the game and…"

"Do you want to play…?"

"Well! Why not."

"We'll give you a ball and…"

"Oh no! Don't bother to: there's no need to! I've got my own launcher too!"

"For those who still haven't caught up, M&F were playing a bowling ball when the ball rolled up Mr. Super's body and hit his nose from beneath thus literally "swelling" his nose." Video Man explained.

"Can a bowling ball really do that?" Dingo wondered.

"No way. It must be that "impossible humor" type of comic in which everything is impossible to mirror in real life."

"The man in question is "Cachoboineagordaschea"! Champion of the one ton sphere run… Go for another pass, big boy!"

"O. K., Boss!"

"Note! His name can be broken down as "Cacho" or "Big", "Boinea", a corruption of "Boina", a typical hat, "Gorda" or "Fat" and "Schea" a corruption of "Euskera"… M&F are tied to the floor and have the big boulder run over them several times as punishment! Ahem, ahem and ahem! Alright! Enough games! There's an urgent mission pending! The hijacker strikes back! They've stolen a "McDouglas DC 20" off the airport today! But the director said it only had four drops of fuel left so it must've forcibly landed close by… You'll check open fields around this area to find the plane and try to seize the hijacker!" Video Man explained before continuing with the dialogue.

"Hum… And how do we check those open fields, anyway? In donkey- taxi…?" Needle Man asked.

"You've got the necessary tools to perform the aerial inspection in Hanger Number Nine… Get to work!"

"Huh! What'll it be? A reactor? A turbine chopper? A vertical take-off plane…?" Burner Man sounded excited.

"I wonder that myself." Dingo muttered.

"Hmmm… But turbine chopper sounds like a parody…" Barrel muttered while looking skeptical.

"WHAT IN THE…? W-what the heck is this…?"

"What, what?" Dingo eagerly asked.

"Brrr! We should've expected it from Mr. Super…!"

"An old and repulsive coriander!"

"And you think you're Mr. Universe! What a guy!"

"A coriander? You gotta be kidding me!" Dingo groaned.

"That's… idiotic. Really." Barrel fumed.

"Did you see that? They're riding a coriander!"

"Bah! Poor-cultured people… I use a pterodactyl myself! 50 steam mammoths with five upholders!"

"Yeah! Mortadelo & Filemón form part of an aerial mission! I'm so envious, really! I'm sure they gave them a super-sonic plane taken straight from the NATO forces!"

"Fly, you bug! Fly~!"

"You're gonna see when I stuck the beak in your eye!"

"Hah, hah, hah! Hoh, hoh, hoh! Mwa, mwa!"

"That was Agent Chismósez… We're gonna be laughed at by all the organization…!" Needle Man grumbled.

"So another agent saw them and got to laugh after thinking they were using some NATO jet… I'm off. This is so idiotic: I can't stand any more of it!" Barrel cursed as he ran off.

"And that's all for today, our fellows. Be sure to sharpen your _machete_ knives and slice the Mazarin Stone in half to hide it inside of your hood thus proving you're geniuses." Video Man chuckled.

Burner Man and Needle Man chuckled in the background while Dingo's jaw hit the floor.

"Man. What a crazy day!" He cursed.

"Totally." Tomahawk Man grumbled.

"Oh! We almost forgot! Hey! We've come from checking the surroundings but there's no trace of the missing "Mc Douglas DC 20"…!"

"Ah, but… It's already appeared! Heh, heh! Truth is: my little nephew had picked it."

"Your little nephew…?" Burner Man sounded taken aback.

"Yes! It's a desk lighter, see? I was afraid he'd get burnt because it still had four drops of fuel… Isn't it cute?"

"Take cute! Take that!"

"Huh! Are you mad? Get met outta here! I'll complain to your bosses! Arglglgl!"

"Note! The joke is that "monada" can mean "cute" but M&F as a revenge for all they've gone through toss the director into the cage of the Kilimanjaro's wild gorilla interpreting "monada" as "monkey-like" 'cause "mono" is "monkey" in Spanish…" Video Man explained.

"The Kilimanjaro's wild gorilla…?" Dingo turned white.

"Man. The guy could've said it was a lighter and not a real plane to begin with!" Tomahawk Man groaned.

"Mr. Smith said no so…" Burner Man laughed.

"Shah, shah, shah! But I know of some needles which aren't mine roaming around here and bringing disgrace with them!"

"Who talked?" One of the base's soldiers called out.

"Billy did!" Someone else replied.

"Bring it on, twerps!" The guy named Billy challenged.

"Farewell!"

A quarrel suddenly started and Dingo was obviously overwhelmed by now.

_Oh man. We got busted! What's going to happen next?_


	36. Chapter 36: Smoke & Mirrors

**Chapter 36: Smoke & Mirrors**

09:52 AM (Japan Time), Wednesday July the 17th…

"… How thrilling, really…!"

"So, our fellow conspirer…? Is our deal still valid?"

"Yikes! Y-yeah, it sure is… Please don't creep in from behind just like that: it scares me, you know!"

"Heh, heh, heh… But it's fun."

Obihiro had been reading some data using his notebook computer when Netto and Rock Man suddenly sneaked on him from behind while looking amused: he gasped and turned around while looking nervous.

"But do you think you can keep Ijuuin – kun the way he is forever?"

"Don't worry! Before August is over we'll cancel that." Netto grinned back at him.

"By then there'll be no turning back: the CWC Plan will have entered full-implementation mode." Rock Man whispered.

"A-alright… But please don't do that of the other day again… If that was your idea of an initiation rite I gotta say it was too extreme…!" Obihiro pleaded in a hushed tone.

"Don't worry… That was just once in life."

"Won't happen twice…"

"Phew."

"Let's go to the meeting room, alright?" Netto grinned.

"Alright…"

"Yo! What's with the chit-chat? Discussing the upcoming stormy weather brought to you by Uncle Weather?" Oda laughed at his improvised pun as he walked in.

"No, sir."

"The Plausible Denial Club Strikes Back With A Vengeance!" Oda laughed at his impossibly long motto.

The three of them groaned in annoyance and quickly came out of the cubicle to head for the elevators and stairs: they climbed up one floor and then reached the conference room: Enzan and Yuuichirou were already there looking at some documents: Meijin and Oda came in next and they all sat on their seats.

"Alright. Some days ago we got a glimpse of a new technology named "Cross Fusion"… It apparently works along with something named "Synchro Chip" and the "Dimensional Areas" created by those "Dimensional Converters"…" Enzan began.

"The "Synchro Chip"…" Netto muttered.

"You've heard of it?" Enzan guessed.

"Well… Yeah. Miquel showed it to me but didn't say what it did. He merely called it their "ace-in-the-hole" so…" Netto admitted.

"Well. This "Cross Fusion" procedure, according to a mail forwarded to us by _Noir_, allows for a Navi to come out into the real world by "borrowing" the Operator's body. The end result is a "fusion" of both of them which allows the Operator to behave like they were a Navi: they can use any Battle Chip and special ability as well. The system incorporates the possibility of using a jet-pack to fly around too." Enzan explained.

"Wow. So it's like Full Synchro but taken to the real world." Rock Man whistled in surprise.

"Yet there are several factors which must be taken into account if you want it to work. You need to have a Synchronism rate of over 90% to begin with, both Operator and Navi must work in synch, and you must be inside of a "Dimensional Area"… The "Cross Fusion" drains a lot of physical strength off the Operator so it usually sets a limit about how much effort you can do it while in that form… If you receive too many blows or the chest emblem gets damaged then it's very possible that the "Cross Fusion" will get cancelled…" Enzan detailed.

"So it has some weaknesses to it too…"

"Everything has a weakness somewhere."

"Our insider reported how they've heard Hades mention something named _Paradise_… And if we go by the mythological logic that Hell is in the underground, Purgatory is in the surface and Paradise in the skies then Paradise might be a remote unmanned plane."

"Unmanned plane... I thought there already were some of those operating out there, right?" Netto seemingly recalled.

"Yeah. Well. The behavior of everyone seems to be more or less the same as always with Joanne now demanding Sharo Army sniper rifles because she can't stand "out-dated" stuff."

"Guess so!" Rock Man shrugged.

"Sometimes _Noir_ is absent during several days in a row before showing up again: all he admits is that he's working with the "Zero" super-computer into calibrating it and running more tests… It currently can operate to about 61% capacity… We don't know how he goes to _Purgatory_ and comes back either. Our insider has a job to do too so we can't have 24/7 surveillance. All attempts to infiltrate flying micro-robots have failed because Hades always seems to find them out." Enzan continued with obvious frustration to his voice.

"I guess we should be glad they don't mind about the insider unlike 95% of the bands out there." Rock Man reminded them.

"Yeah. We really should." Blues admitted.

"Video Man, Burner Man and Needle Man keep on making those radio adaptations of the comic book series known as _Mortadelo y Filemón_ by Francisco Ibañez: they're a long-running franchise which has always been extremely popular in Spain for all ages." Enzan continued reading from his notes.

"I see. They must have the type of voice which suits the radio more than the TV." Obihiro looked amused."

"And that's all for the time being…"

"Good job. But I'm afraid we'll never get to the very bottom of the whole thing…" Yuuichirou muttered.

"Maybe we need help from the Deep Department?"

"No, thank you." Yuuichirou calmly replied.

"Oi! Meijin! The video jerk is here but… There are 100 of them!"

"100 of them?" Everyone uttered in disbelief.

"Mwah, hah, hah. Try to tell us apart, Mr. Anderson!"

"What the fuck?"

"Mwah, hah, hah. Wind Cutter!"

"Muwo~h!"

"Shit! Plug In! Blues, Transmission!"

"Papa! Should I…?" Netto asked.

"No." Yuuichirou replied.

"Netto – kun. We're rusted. We gotta admit that."

"Oh, true… I sometimes forget about it…" He sighed.

"So! Blues! Can you face me and my colleagues?"

"Colleagues? Oh damn it." Blues cursed.

"Shah, shah, shah!"

"Heh, heh, heh…"

"Needle Man and Burner Man too! And there are a lot of them all over the place! I don't get it!" Punk growled.

"Use your imagination, Agent Smith!"

"These guys have seen _The Matrix_ or what?" Meijin wondered while sounding rather skeptical.

"Oh my. Blame me." A girl's voice rang out.

"You're…!"

"Sandra. Bertha – chan's Net Navi. Surprised?"

"So you've staged for this."

Enzan and Meijin turned on their holographic screens so that everyone else could look: Punk and Blues were standing with their backs glued and surrounded by a huge amount of Video Man, Burner Man and Needle Man copies as well as Sandra who was hovering in the air while surrounded by a "Dream Aura" and having a smug smile on her face: she suddenly blew Punk a kiss and he gasped.

"Whoa. A chick blew me a kiss… Gotta be my lucky day!"

"Snap out of it! It's a trap!" Blues growled.

"Huh! R-roger!"

"Tee, heh, heh. I challenge you to figure who got the coffee cup with the red chili on it." Bertha's voice rang out.

Everyone looked at their coffee cups and quickly checked inside of them: Enzan drew a red chili from it and he didn't look amused in the very least at the joke.

"My! Enzan. Cha gotta be lucky." Bertha teased.

"This woman…!" He growled.

"But I'd rather have the cute _chibi_ boy." She suddenly announced while sounding eager.

"M-me?" Obihiro gasped and looked terrified.

"Wanna hang out with me, cutie?"

"No, ma'am! I'm not even 13 yet!" He protested.

"A~w… You lack thrill, my cutie."

"I prefer to protect my hide, thank you very much!"

"Ever heard of something named _S&M_?"

"But that's…!" Oda, Meijin and Yuuichirou began.

"No, not _that thing_. The technology!"

"Technology? There's a technology named like that?" Meijin wondered while frowning.

"A~w… Guess none of you have military background, so… _Smoke & Mirrors_: that's the name! Produce optical illusions to lure enemy fire and have them exhaust their resources before sending in the real thing and delivering the _coup de grace_!" She giggled.

"So they're copies produced by Video Man?"

"Yessir. Using a mirror I was able to record myself…"

"Shah, shah, shah! Needle Cannon!"

"Strike Burner!"

"Wind Cutter!"

"Fuck! How do we beat all of these?" Punk cursed after receiving the blunt of all three attacks.

"Distract the videotape fucker." Blues whispered.

"Huh? Alright… Oi! You videotape fucker! Time to retire! Blu-Ray came to replace ya!" Punk taunted.

"Wha~t? That silly-named thing will replace me, you say~? That's impossible! There'll always be nostalgic fellows who will keep their VHS collections even if they can't visualize them anymore!" Video Man shot back.

"Battle Chip, Heavy Shake, Elec Sword! Double Slot In!"

"Oh damn it! That's…!"

"Double Go-Round!"

"Hit those two!"

"Shah! Damn! That hurt!"

"Fuck."

"GO~!"

"Muwa~h!"

"Oh crap!"

Blues repeated his trick from several months ago and all video copies vanished in the midst of the EM outburst: the four Golden Star Navis' jaws hit the floor and they looked like their confidence had fallen: Blues and Punk advanced towards them.

"Game Over. And there aren't any "Continues" left." Blues sarcastically told them.

"Oh yeah! I'll beat ya to a pulp!"

"We can still fight!" Burner Man growled.

"Shah, shah, shah! Bring it on!"

"Enough."

"Ma'am!"

"Oh shit."

"Oh fuck."

Slur suddenly showed up and both Blues and Punk cursed while the four Navis kneeled in front of her as she hovered above the air with her typical uninterested face.

"I did approve of this strategy and I did think it would succeed yet we let this little detail slip us by… Yet you are not to blame: you did make them see what we can do with just one Navi's power…" She calmly told them while folding her arms.

"Thank you, ma'am!"

"Retreat to the base."

"Roger, ma'am!"

The four Navis jumped into the purple "gateway" while Slur remained behind to direct a glare at both Blues and Punk: she then glanced at the holographic screens and formed a smile: she suddenly warped out of the Cyber World to show up behind Rock Man inside of his PET: Rock Man gasped and stepped back while looking scared.

"So. You are Rock Man."

"Y-y-y-yes, ma'am…" He nervously replied.

"Has Andy not talked to you about me?"

"H-he did, ma'am, yet… He did not warn me that ma'am had such an overwhelming… presence." He admitted.

"Ah. Is that so?" She formed a smug smile.

"Y-yes, ma'am, yet it cannot be blamed… It's something one wouldn't understand unless they witnessed it on person…"

"Of course. Then there is no problem. I just had the longing desire to try to comprehend what Serenade saw in you."

"I-it is natural, ma'am… Andy – kun did tell me that thou had been one of the persons Serenade trusted in, ma'am…"

"True. So. Hikari Netto. What did Serenade see in you?"

"Eh? M-me? W-well, I guess… courage?" He improvised.

"Ah. That should be it. Courage… A persistence which told you to keep on pushing on forward and not just "try" but to "do" it… So that is what he saw in you after Meijin requested of him to help you out…"

"Y-yeah, I've always thought so… Ma'am." Netto added the last word to try to sound respectful.

"Eh, ma'am… Regarding Forte…" Rock Man timidly called out.

"Oh. Him? He is alive. Yet he has fallen into never-ending slumber from which he shall not wake up. It is for the best."

"O-of course. He's too volatile."

"Wait a minute. Aren't you Hades' secretary to begin with? Your accent, height and behavior all match up as well as the voice: you just wear that black hat to make it hard for other to see your face." Enzan suddenly told her.

"Indeed."

"Why would you bother to do something so complicated?"

"Good question indeed… It could be because this provides me with a position from which to observe the Operators' behaviors… The whole acting makes me merge with the environment and nobody questions anything… So I can supervise whether the Operator influences the Navi or it is the inverse…" She calmly exposed.

"Well. That's not a bad idea…" Yuuichirou muttered.

"Do be assured… Once the moment comes all data on "Cross Fusion" shall be granted to the Science Labs for civilian research… It would not be fair for them to get some credit since they were the ones who designed the "Dimensional Converters" and "Dimensional Areas"…"

"Huh! Ah… Well…. You're welcome."

"I think there has been enough chatter. I have fulfilled that little caprice which was bugging at me so I shall depart. Farewell."

Slur became the stream of yellow energy and vanished into the purple gateway: everyone sighed in relief and some tension seemed to have been removed from the air: Obihiro directed a short glance at Netto who feigned not having noticed it.

_Man. They made up a totally believable scene… Guess Slur's own presence helped them act convincingly… No wonder we'd never realized anything: with that skill to act as they're supposed to act at any given moment… It's a mask which can't be pierced through… But I can't complain, really. They send me actual data from the super-computer and are in need of my help to fix bugs and make it run smoothly…_

"… Alright. That was another display of power. Guess there'll be more in the upcoming days…" Enzan broke the silence.

"Man. Now I see why they say she's powerful. Her mere presence makes you feel like you're a tiny bug compared to her mightiness. I'm sure she could stop a war simply by appearing in the midst of the battlefield as well!" Netto muttered while apparently still recovering from the fright he'd gotten.

"Sure thing…" Punk muttered.

"Would you believe someone used a Malaysian "Eau de Fleurs" to kill flies?" Someone suddenly asked.

"No." Everyone quickly replied.

"Would you believe someone used eyelash mascara thinking it was typing machine grease?" The voice asked next.

"No!"

"Would you believe the owner of both of those threw an axe at someone claiming it was an "idiot-killer"?"

"NO!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Then believe it because it actually happened. _Don_ Ibañez says so, my fellows." The voice chuckled.

"Video Man!" Blues cursed.

"Ops. Got found out by this excellent Jedi out there. See ya around, my fellow Jedi Knight." Video Man laughed.

"Grfjtx!" Blues grumbled.

"Blues a Jedi Knight…? Come on…"Rock Man didn't like it either.

"Then you will be his Padawan, Rock Man!"

"No way." He groaned.

Video Man laughed while everyone else groaned in defeat…


	37. Chapter 37: Raiding party

**Chapter 37: Raiding party**

15:51 PM (Japan Time), Thursday July the 25th…

"… Alright. I'm in position to go in through the front. Zarashe. Are you in position to handle the rear? Over."

"Yessir. Over."

"I can see the front door perfectly, Miquel!"

"Good, Joanne – san. Please send our greetings to the fellows who try to run out seeking for their escape rope…"

"Count on it!"

"… Rear door… Covered… No obstruction… Over…"

"The actors have been gathered… On my count."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"10 seconds. Be ready to perform "CF"…"

"Roger."

"…"DC" charging completed… Deploying… Activation… 5 seconds left so be on standby…"

"Roger."

Kage was crouching behind a pair of drum containers near an isolated small house with just one floor: two thugs were guarding the door which had a sign reading "Makou Trading" on it: the first floor's windows had their curtains closed despite it being the afternoon: Kage had drawn his PET and the Synchro Chip and looked ready given his smug smile: Andy's life-sized hologram crouching next to him blinked him an eye.

"Activation." Slur announced over a cordless earphone.

Something sparkled in the sky for a second before four "Dimensional Converters" with a metallic needle attached to their bases and two short thin cylinders for managing balance plunged into the ground.

"W-what!"

"What are those? Where'd they come from?"

"Eat this!"

One of them drew a Makarov pistol and began to shoot at one Converter yet the bullets didn't make contact with it and seemed to crash with something invisible given how they were repelled and landed on the ground with their bodies bent and deformed: the "Dimensional Converters" hummed and a "Dimensional Area" formed around the next 600 meters in a circle.

"Synchro Chip, Slot In. Cross Fusion." Kage whispered.

He went through the procedure of "Cross Fusion" and the light emitted caught the attention of both thugs who carefully advanced towards the drums while aiming their Makarov pistols: a figure jumped into the air at a blurry speed and suddenly fell down while aiming its feet' soils at their necks thus knocking them into the ground and stunning them out cold: "Cross Fusion" Kage sneered and then heard a similar sound coming from the other side of the building.

"This is Zarashe! Clear!"

"Clear over here too."

"Go inside." Slur commanded.

"Roger, ma'am!"

"Cross Fusion" Kage kicked the door open and drew a Vulcan Battle Chip at the same time "Cross Fusion" Zarashe came in from the kitchen: the small living room had one worn out sofa, a worn out armchair and a worn out tea table in the middle: there was a photo album atop the tea-table labeled "MERCHANDISE" as well but they ignored it and focused their gaze on the stairs.

"At this time of the day the rooms above should be empty. They're brought at the evening from another place which the police are storming by now. Let's finish up before they come here too."

"Oi, Miquel! I got one trying to jump from the rightmost window: according to the list it's the right-hand man!" Joanne reported over the radio.

"Man down… Leftmost window… Enforcer…"

"Alrigth! Then the big boss himself gotta be barricaded in the centermost room… Let's scare him a bit: he deserves it."

"Do you approve, Slur – sama?"

"Do make them feel the anger of their victims."

"Roger!"

Both rushed up the stairs and spotted the rooms for the three doors: two of them were open and they could see they just had a cupboard, an adjacent restroom and a bed without covers and just the mattress: their windows were open and there was a man partly leaning on each one's frame while snoring.

"Hey! You've got no escape so just give it up!" "Cross Fusion" Kage called out as he banged on the door.

"Fuck you! Die!"

"Dodge!"

He quickly glued his back to the wall at the door's right as a burst of a semi-automatic pistol ran out piercing through the thin wood of the door: both waited until they heard the CLICK sound signaling that the attacker had run out of ammo: they then heard the window being opened followed by a groan and a soft THUD sound.

"Man down…" Felix reported.

"Aw jeez! Ya beat me today."

"Previous… 2-1… Today… 1-2…"

"Try to find a building with four windows." Tom challenged.

"If there's one to begin with." Lily muttered.

"Alright. Let's pull out."

"Yeah. The police will handle the rest."

Both ran out and headed for a black-colored van into which they jumped: Kage and Zarashe removed their "Cross Fusion" forms as the "Dimensional Area" shut down and the "Dimensional Converters" got warped out of their emplacement leaving just four marks on the concrete signaling where they'd landed at.

"Heh! Shooting down the "DC" from _Paradise_ was cool. They ride on a rocket designed for re-entry… The compartment containing the "DC" splits off from the main body and then opens to allow the gizmos to land on their respective spots by just gravity: the counter-weights allow them to remain stable and the spear provides enough support." Kage whispered to Zarashe as he drove the van.

"Sure thing… They can't escape the eyes of Big Brother up there… Our unmanned "DC" shooting space station dotted with its own camouflage field and orbiting at 300 km altitude, below the ISS…" Zarashe whispered back.

"Alright! It's time for Video Man's, Burner Man's and Needle Man's M&F show of the day!"

"Oho."

"Heh! Bring it on." Joanne sounded amused.

"… Hmpf…"

"Yes, Mr. Super! I'll fetch them ASAP! Oh my! He's sitting behind my own desk even! Heh, heh! I bring you a message from… Huh? But… What are you doing?"

"Nothing: just covering a hairless spot which formed on my shoe when I kicked the cat…"

"M-my eyelashes' mascara! Genuine French brand: 3,000Z the pot!"

"Ah! Thought it was grease for the typing machine…"

"French eyelashes' mascara, eh?" Joanne sounded amused.

"What is your opinion, Joanne – dono?" Video Man asked.

"Hah! Who needs that crappy imported stuff? Bet ya can find one for 500Z or less at your local shop…" Joanne laughed.

"And now you're gonna pain the bump with yours aunt's epilator!"

"My aunt uses size seven sandpaper as epilator, ma'am! Take that!"

"Wouldn't you know? She hit him with the typing machine."

"Hah! Then that gal… What's her name? Has temper."

"Ms. Ofelia, 40s, rather fatty… Blonde… Always dresses in a red one-piece suit and black heeled boots…"

"Hmpf! Typical."

"GRJFTX!"

"What's wrong, Ms. Ofelia?"

"It's nothing! I was just going to tell Mortadelo that Mr. Super has summoned you and I found him painting his shoes with…! Huh! My Malaysian "Eau de Fleurs"…! 5,000Z the Choina perfume flask…!"

"Perfume~? Why! It smelled so badly: I thought it was the fly-killing insecticide!"

"… "Fly-killing insecticide"…! Grftj! Eat "Filemón – killing insecticide"! EAT THIS!"

"What a woman! She's so prone to anger, really…!"

"She threw an axe at him which he had to dodge by crawling and running across the floor!" Video Man laughed.

"Good job! That's a woman who shows those idiots to behave!" Joanne exclaimed.

Joanne laughed while Kage and Zarashe shrugged: Felix remained silent and the three Navis chuckled…

16:13 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Ijuuin – kun? Oh. You're here…"

"What's wrong, Superintendent Oda?"

"I got a call from the Science Labs. A "Dimensional Area" was formed in District 7… And a small illegal night-club got raided… Seven men were arrested by the police after Golden Star either knocked them out or put them to sleep…"

"Is that so?"

"The curious part is that the thugs on the outside say that the "Dimensional Converters" _fell from the sky_. And it wasn't a plane: it gave the feeling that they'd been shot down from even higher. They carried one spire to get stuck to the ground too and two counter-weights."

"Maybe _Paradise_ is some system to shoot them down? They must think that we'd eventually figure out their power signature so we could track their deployment while in transit but like this we couldn't predict where they would land at."

Oda came to speak with Enzan as he typed something into a computer: he turned the chair around to speak with Oda and they drew a theory together.

"Then maybe it's some kind of satellite?"

"And it could be cloaked too." Blues added.

"Obviously."

"Tango – san mailed me the newest status report… 67% capacity by now and growing… They're apparently concentrated on extensive debugging at this stage before they allow it to climb up more…" Oda added.

"I see… But I guess their schedule of full capacity at the closing days of August won't change at all…"

"Emergency! Emergency! A berserk Navi has run into our Cyber World and is wrecking everything on its path!"

"Where's the bitch! Show up, bitch! I'll destroy you bitch!"

"Impossible." Enzan cursed.

"No way!" Blues growled.

"Come out, bitch!"

"Hmmm… It would seem my frequent expeditions here have had a secondary effect of exporting power from the "pocket dimension" so that is why you have awakened… I am here but all you try is in vain because history shall be repeated…"

"Is that…?" Oda gasped.

"Forte, yeah."

"Bloody hell!"

"Luckily Slur will actually do us a favor and handle the guy." Enzan rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Darkness Overload! DIE~!"

"Futile."

Enzan quickly typed into the computer and brought up live feed of the Cyber World just in time to see Slur extending her right hand's palm forward and making the "Darkness Overload" break down into nine beams: the central one bounced back at Forte and the other eight converged on eight different spots of his body two seconds later thus forming wounds there: Forte collapsed into the ground and tried to stand up again but collapsed on the attempt.

"How does it feel to drown in your own power? Serenade taught me this: the greatest weakness there is to fools is their own selves. Return their vain power to them and make them feel its taste."

"F-fucking bitch…! I'm invincible! I'm the Ultimate Navi!"

"Who defeated the Super Cybeast? You alone? That is not true! You had to cooperate with Rock Man and the spirit of Serenade told you so!"

"Fuck!"

"So before making hollow announcements use your head: you were granted intelligence for something. You are disgracing your father: you fall into the trap for fools of "guilty by association" and because 8 fools tried to dispose of you after Proto framed you… You went and blamed 4 billion humans for your own disgrace. How foolish! Over 99% of them were totally unrelated to the whole business." Slur added.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

"Go ahead: waste what little energy you have left in vain. You fools tend to think you can make a miracle recovering but I know all about your wrecked body which was remade by the "Four Dark Heavenly Kings" time ago… The "Dark Power" is gone yet you have that fraction of Cybeast Falzer you absorbed back then too… Yet you are too weak to trigger it and even if you could its power would turn you into a mindless and rampaging beast." She smugly warned.

"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP! EARTH BREAKER!"

"How many times do I have to say it? It is useless."

Forte tried to jump at her but she merely drew her right arm to protect her face and the blast landed there yet it broke down into smaller outbursts of energy which then reformed and hit Forte's chest emblem thus damaging it: he groaned and collapsed on the ground, panting, while looking furious.

"Impossible! Impossible…! Im… possible…!"

"You can feel it… The feeling of power is just a momentary thing: when all adrenaline is wasted then fear settles in your body because you realize your survival chances have just dropped to extreme levels… Let me end that useless struggle and send you to slumber again… Reflect on your evolution and life and when I see that you can walk a path of "Light" then you shall be released… Farewell."

She aimed her right hand at his forehead and emitted some sonic pulse beams which turned Forte's azure jewel stone gray followed by his body.

"There. Open up, pocket dimension!"

A black-colored gateway opened and the petrified Forte was sucked inside of it before it closed: Slur shrugged and simply looked around the Cyber World as if having forgotten about him altogether.

"You must have realized this was not intentional."

"Obviously." Enzan replied.

"Good. That is all I had to in here. Farewell."

She disappeared and both Enzan and Blues sighed in relief while Oda took out a handkerchief and wiped off some sweat which had formed on his forehead.

"Phew. Luckily we could contain this somehow… Look at how she simply returned all the attacks to him after breaking them down…! And she didn't have to do any contact or real fighting even…!" Oda muttered with obvious fear.

"Yeah… I'm sure that not even Andy with the Ryuusei Program's power would be able to stand up to her. Nor like they'll ever fight. Slur is in charge and no – one questions that."

"Ijuuin – sama: Ms. Smith called." Someone announced over the PA system.

"Ms. Smith? Blues: do I know any Ms. Smith?" Enzan asked of him while frowning.

"I don't think so, sir."

"Oda – sama: Ms. Brown called."

"Ms. Brown? I don't recall her."

"Meijin – sama: Ms. Harper called."

"What did ya say?" Meijin could be heard wondering aloud in the adjacent cubicle.

"Obihiro – sama: Ms. Princess called."

"What "Ms. Princess"?"

"Ladies and gentlemen: Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman are going to be signing autographs today at the ground floor's meeting room until 21:00 PM."

"KYA~H! TOM CRUISE!"

"WHOA~H! NICOLE KIDMAN!"

Oda opened the door and saw a crowd of employees rushing towards the aforementioned conference room: he blinked several times while being obviously taken aback by such behavior.

"What! They aren't the real ones! They're just holograms!"

"What's that atop the desks? "Happy Delayed April's Fools"… Who in the world would do _this_?"

"Beware! Professor Bacterio has invented the Time-Skipper! Those who wanna know this year's chosen lottery numbers would better skip on forward and then return! You can now change the future!" The voice announced next.

"Whoa!"

"Find it by going to the rooftop and inputting the solution to the problem in the safe! The problem is: what's Corrective #7 about? The hint is: spiky animal! _Good luck_! _Go_, _go_ _and_ _go_!"

"But… There's no safe in the rooftop…! And who is that?"

"… Video Man… _Again_…" Enzan groaned.

"Mwah, hah, hah! I made all of you dance to my tune like I was Hamelin's Flautist! The answer is: hedgehog! Massage in the navel with an adult hedgehog! Patented by _Don_ Francisco Ibañez!"

"Oh come on… That's impossible." Enzan groaned next.

"Mwah, hah, hah! Don't forget my motto! _Video Man: I'll be back_!"

He kept on laughing while Enzan groaned in defeat…


	38. Chapter 38: Femenine trouble

**Chapter 38: Feminine trouble**

11:32 AM (Japan Time), Friday July the 26th…

"… Ah… It feels good to stand here, at the dock's edge, and let the sea breeze fly through you… I feel like I can drown all of my problems there as well… Right, Andy?"

"Yeah. Today is a nice day. It ain't too hot for being the closing days of July either. But they say August will come with a heat wave and temperatures above 30 Celsius too."

"So! You really were here. Kage – kun!"

"Huh? Yikes! Sa… Sakurai – san!"

"Whoa!"

"You owe us a _lot_ of explanations before I give you a lesson about what happens to guys who make a lady worry for ten months."

"P-please, Sakurai – san… We can talk this like civilized people, right? Didn't Hikari – kun explain?"

"Yeah. But I'm not satisfied."

"I ain't either, Andy – kun! Loosen the tongue NOW."

"P-please wait, Roll – san…"

Kage had been sitting at one dock's edge and swinging his legs over the harbor's waters while chatting with Andy who was sitting at his right when Meiru (who sported her usual vest but had replaced the skirt and stocking by a pair of jeans and the shoes by sneakers) loomed over them while looking threatening, for once: Kage gulped and quickly stood up to try to calm her down while Andy did the same with Roll's hologram.

"To begin with! Why didn't you join our course if you've been here all along?"

"Didn't Hikari – kun tell you? I'm part of Golden Star! I had to devote too much time to this and I didn't want to involve Hikari – kun!"

"I thought he was involved."

"No! That's exactly what I've been trying to avoid! I don't want anyone associating him to us or having a reason to fear or despise him again: he's had a bad experience with that already. Didn't he tell you he'd been in the hospital before he began 1st year?"

"Yeah. But that was just that he'd fainted due to the heat and they wanted to make sure he hadn't gotten any illness."

"Oh. Well. I guess his father had to say it like that, but…"

"What? You mean to say there was another reason?"

"Agh! I shouldn't have said that. I'm betraying his trust. I can't say anymore: and if he won't talk upon it then he won't. The point is: we're working to bring stability to society and we're very close to ensuring this goal!" Kage argued back.

"You could've at least sent a postcard saying you were in Japan and that you were alive! Couldn't you?"

"I know, but I just wanted to avoid any contact with the class. I didn't want any of you to go through something bad because of me."

"Huh? Say that again?"

"I mean this: my uncle is a crazy Tea Party man who tried to turn me into a racist and stupid man who would despise all cultures and nations outside of Ameroupe! I had to flee! He posted a bounty on me! That's when I stumbled upon Golden Star in Houston! They sheltered me and I contributed by telling them all I knew about my uncle and his political allies! Just look at what they've done to Chicago and Illinois! It's like a regression! Like a corrupt state!" He exclaimed.

"So you mean that… If your uncles' accomplices knew that you were in contact with us… They could use one of us as bait to lure you out of hiding? That's horrible!" She gasped.

"I know! And I insist: I did it for the whole school's sake! I cut all lines with everyone so as to not to drag anyone into this affair!"

"But… Can't anything be done about it?"

"We've already gotten information which will prove the machinations of the Illinois Tea Party and we're waiting for the right moment to publish them: the public will have their suspicions confirmed and Washington will have to make a move or else even the UN will boil. When August comes and people find their liberty of movements restricted by those idiots more anger at them will be born… And then we'll give the information to ALL mass media of ALL AMEROUPE! They'll all know the truth! And nothing will save those idiots from public uproar!"

"A-alright." She nervously gulped.

"Sorry if I scared you but, sadly… It is reality, Sakurai – san. But I hope I can avoid a bad outcome of the whole deal too… Can you believe my own uncle would tell me I've disgraced myself just because I went out of the country and had contact with "the nation's enemies" plus learned a "decadent, inferior idiom"?"

"THAT's what he said?" Meiru gasped in horror.

"Yeah! And he beat me up and starved me saying he'd make me forget those things! But you don't "forget" because you want to! He tried to delete Andy because he said he'd been "brainwashed by the enemy to attempt into our Fatherland" and other crap! I hid from him and I finally got away by stabbing his knees! I ran off that place and using my funds I picked a plane to Houston. I picked that place because I'd gotten an email telling me to come there… An email from Golden Star…"

"By all the…!" She was white by now.

"Damn it! That fucking old man!"

Kage discharged a fist into a container nearby and panted as if he'd done too much effort and had to recover from it: Meiru timidly stepped back while Andy hung his head down: Roll was horrified by now too as told by her face.

"… Sorry. I just couldn't help it. I hadn't told anyone this yet. Not even Hikari – kun. It came out… and I had to discharge it."

"N-no… It's alright… I…"

"So! Miquel! As expected! That's your girlfriend, EH?"

"Oh come on…"

"Why is she here?"

"She followed you guys. I tried to tell her off but she wouldn't listen and I can't stop her unless she does something out of bounds…"

Joanne had suddenly showed up while carrying her rifle and looking annoyed: Kage groaned, Andy cursed, Meiru and Roll looked puzzled while Lily was folding her arms and looked exasperated.

"So this little bitch here is the one who you screw every morning!"

"WRONG!"

"WHAT DID CHA SAY?" Meiru snapped.

"I KNOW IT!"

"I DEMAND PROOF!"

"WHO NEEDS PROOF ANYWAY?"

"MY LAWYERS WILL DEMAND TO SEE IT!"

"LAWYERS MY BUTT!"

"There you are! What are you doing now? What are these yells? Explain yourself! You broke the martial law too!"

"Oh shit!"

The "secretary" had caught up with them and she was visibly annoyed by now: Joanne made a scowl.

"Ma'am! Are you her superior or tutor?" Meiru asked.

"I am a commanding officer." She confirmed.

"This… person… was accusing me… in a rude manner… without having any factual proof!" She hissed.

"Now you are in for a Hell. Breaking martial law, escaping the building, shutting down the communications line, accusing a civilian without any proof, trailing a member… President Hades and Vice President _Noir_ will have to take a decision about you. I guess we shall have to retire you your membership and send you home for a while before we judge if you are worthy of being re-admitted." She hissed.

"You won't be able to do that, ugly." She defiantly replied.

"We can. And we will do. Golden Star's name cannot be stained because of just one idiotic member. We are so close to our goal and if we are to complete it then our reputation MUST be maintained no matter the cost it takes!" She increased her voice's volume.

"Sorry, Joanne – chan. But I'll have to drag you back to the HQ. You've done too many out of bounds things and you cannot be certified with being rational." Lily suddenly told her as she grabbed her left arm and began to pull her away.

"Let go of me you bribed Navi!"

"Do us a favor and be silent." She replied.

"Do drag them to the HQ and lock them in their room before we can begin an emergency meeting. Alright, Miss. There is no need to elucidate on those accusations because I can guess them. Kage. Is this person someone you know?"

"Yes, ma'am… A former classmate of me…"

"A companion of Hikari Netto?" She guessed.

"True, ma'am…"

"Fine then. I shall be going back. And please do not mind that member's behavior: they have an unusually high level of jealousy and that obscures their minds so they cannot think in a rational manner."

"Don't worry, ma'am, I guessed it at first sight. Please make sure they don't get away with it but don't blame the Navi. It was trying to stop them, after all." Meiru replied.

"Of course. That Navi knows how to behave and it is a pity it cannot further influence the Operator. Good-bye."

"Who was that? She sounded very commanding."

"Mr. President's secretary who also acts in his name if he happens to be absent or busy… I work for the Vice President myself."

"Hum. Let me guess: she wanted to have you as a younger boyfriend but you've made no reply so she's started to think there was some other girlfriend involved." Meiru deduced.

"Yeah. While it can't be denied that she's an excellent sniper yet she's got that jealousy with another member..."

"And she's picked you?"

"No. My buddy from the President Department… But this person, Bertha – san or the "Ice Queen", seems to be in command and just uses him for amusement without any… physical contact."

"Ah. Dominatrix, you mean."

"Huh? Eh… Do excuse me, Sakurai – san… But I thought that a person such as you was too young to know…"

"Heh! There's nothing which can stop me." She grinned.

"Is that so…?" He sounded surprised.

"So! How exactly are cha gonna bring "stability" to society?"

"By collecting information regarding criminals and forwarding it to intelligence agencies and police they can strike at them having relievable data and stopping them… Of course: all data used by normal civilians and such is not touched upon and not looked at… We use the same type of tagging system most agencies use when intercepting data…"

"I see. So you fish out data used or related to any type of crime and then forward it to the police so they can go and possibly intercept the criminals who are about to put their plans into motion… Sounds neat enough. And how can you do that big job?"

"Obviously enough… By using a super-computer…"

"So you've built a super-computer… Intriguing. Say. What kind of persons are there in the business?"

"Well… Zarashe: he's a smart guy and is skilled at lock-picking and knowing the weaknesses of any type of lock… Bertha – san: she's good at disguising and collecting information… Felix: an Sri Lanka Japanese who was raised as child soldier… Another sniper… Suzuki – san: works at the DNN as make-up assistant… Joel Agoras… Maybe you remember him from that day Hinoken showed up next to the school… That detective fellow…" He listed with a smile.

"Ah yes. I remember."

"Do you have a lot of Navis?" Roll asked.

"Yes. Some of them are old familiar faces. But they have their memories reset to a blank state so they don't remember if they did anything bad in the past… The one exception is Freeze Man…"

"Freeze Man! Gospel's Freeze Man? He's back?"

"Calm down, Roll – san! He is back but has redeemed himself: and he was just following orders back then so it was nothing personal."

"Ah! Alright… If you say so…"

"Other Navis include Slur – sama… She is extremely powerful and the most powerful of Golden Star… The supreme authority… She was a trustee of Serenade and she was one of the persons who started the project of Golden Star…" Andy continued.

"A female commander…? Sounds more like 21st century, yeah. That's what we need: more female commanders!" Roll grinned.

"My superior is Legato: he looks like Blues but he's more friendly and all compared to Blues."

"Aha. Say… You aren't using a hologram, right?"

"No. I'm using a robot body named "Copy Roid"…"

"Whoa! So you've figured out how to materialize Net Navis?" Roll sounded intrigued.

"Correct! We're also researching on how to bridge the gap between both worlds and advance towards a society where Navis can co-exist with humans. But please keep this a secret, Roll – san. Were dangerous parties to know of it then there'd be a mad race to get their hands on them and start all kinds of new crimes."

"Gotcha."

"Hmmm…" Meiru seemed to be thinking of something.

"Is something the matter, Sakurai – san?"

"No, not really, but…" She trailed off.

"We'll make sure such an incident doesn't happen again. You have our word on the matter." Kage quickly told her.

"No. It wasn't about that…"

"If it's about Hikari – kun, we meet from time to time and I'm explaining things to him… He'd heard of them from Ijuuin Enzan anyway so… And we have also punished some bad guys by shutting down their businesses and letting the police catch them." He added.

"Say. This may sound like too much of a personal question but…"

"Yes? What's the matter?"

"You're a still a rookie?"

"Oh no. I'm no rookie. We get gun training and self-defense training from a former double agent…" He laughed.

"No, I didn't mean as an agent or such…"

"I can use a tranquilizer gun and my aim is perfect."

"I didn't mean that either. Think 'bout it…"

"Oi, oi… Meiru – chan. What are you plotting?" Roll asked.

"Don't worry! All's under control."

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Roll warned.

"You're too pessimistic! I got neat scores in all of my subjects and they were all over the 6 mark!" She tried to shoo the topic away.

"I insist: I don't like where this is heading to."

"Eh… If it's about advice regarding whom to pick as a couple then I'm afraid I can't be of help…" Kage timidly warned.

"You a virgin?"

"HUH? Excuse me?" Kage gasped.

"Oh. Come on. That's something private! You don't have any right to assault him with such a question. I don't mind that myself. They have all the rights to make their choices in life."

"Lemme have some fun." Meiru merely replied.

"This isn't "fun"! This is more like "bullying"!" Roll scolded her.

"Well?" Meiru ignored Roll and confronted Kage.

"Eh… Well… T-that's… Hum… But… I'm not obliged to… reply to such a question, Sakurai – san…" He timidly blurted while looking away and being obviously too nervous to properly reply.

"Yeah. Please leave my Operator in peace. He's had to go through too much pressure from others before." Andy grumbled.

"Nope! I won't give up."

"Oh come on! Now who is the one who isn't behaving in a civilized manner?" Roll complained.

"Don't be so stiff." Meiru shooed her away.

"I am sorry, but I simply cannot answer to such a question. Do not insist, Sakurai – san, because… Huh!"

"Hey! What are you doing, Meiru – chan?"

"Aha-hah! What's this ring then?"

"Yikes!"

Meiru had suddenly rummaged in his coat's right pocket to take out his golden ring with the initials "K. O." engraved on it colored silver: Kage gasped while Meiru grinned.

"KO? I'll remember that. I only have to ask a favor out of Yaito – chan and we'll find out what kind of girl she is."

"Eh, but, KO is just… The civilian name of…"

"Oh! So they have another name?" Meiru loomed closer.

"Chut!" Andy warned Kage.

"I mean, you've never heard of "Knock Out"?"

"Yeah. And you're going to make me believe you like it so much that you bothered to make this ring which you've been toying with the whole time since I showed up." Her grin grew wider.

"Oh man. I'm in trouble." He muttered.

"Sure you are… And if it turns out to be a leech then… There's gonna be a _girls' fight_… You'd be better off doing your job and waiting until the outcome is reached…" She warned.

"Meiru – chan! Be realistic!" Roll complained.

"Have this back. And see cha around… Hoh, hoh, hoh!"

"MEIRU – CHAN! YOU _BAKA_~!"

Meiru vanished from sight and Kage slapped his face in defeat while Andy sighed and closed his eyes as if venting his bad mood.

"Girls. First Joanne – san, now Meiru – chan… Why do they always have to pick on these things? Do they need to know that to survive?"

"I'll never understand that mania, really, Saito – niisan."

Both of them slapped their faces in defeat…


	39. Chapter 39: Show off

**Chapter 39: Show-off**

17:17 PM (Japan Time), Saturday August the 3rd…

"… Man. I'm still freaked out, Boss. I don't know what'll happen regarding that person and their snooping… I've tried to ask of Hikari – kun to tell them to stop but it'd seem he's had no luck…"

"Lovely. Speaking of girls… We've got a woman out there who isn't really a problem but should be taught that we won't tolerate a new Net Mafia organization like in the past."

"Oh yeah? And who's that, Boss?"

"Well. Read this report from Zero. Speaking of which, we've just reached 74% capacity… We hope to be at 100% by the last 5 days of this month starting on the 26th and around the 31st at the latest…"

"Good enough… Hmmm… Hey! I recognize this surname. Hikari – kun told me about it… So that guy had a daughter… A spoiled daughter who thinks she can do whatever she wants to… Could be trouble…"

"Yeah. Taking into account who she wants to involve…"

"But their Navis were deleted back then. And I doubt her having any idea of Navi reconstruction."

_Noir_ and Kage were chatting inside of his office: Kage had taken off his sunglasses to read at a report and he then looked up to him.

"You know what? I'll go." Kage decided.

"Alone? I can't allow that." _Noir_ warned.

"Well! I'll bring Zarashe along and have him on standby at the street: we'll be in radio contact. Besides… Even if the whole group is there they can't stand to materialized Andy. Where are you, Andy?"

"Where else? In the PET! Did you think I'd gone off elsewhere?"

"Sorry. Let's go fetch your Copy Roid and be on our way there. We'll pick Zarashe up by the way."

"Good luck."

"Thanks, Boss."

"Show them around, Andy – kun, my fellow."

"Count on it, Legato."

Kage stood up, shook hands with _Noir_ and came out of the room and into the corridor: he headed for Zarashe's room and knocked on it.

"Zarashe! Wanna come round up some silly guys who believe they can resurrect a ghost of the past?" He grinned.

"Sounds like fun." Zarashe replied as he opened the door.

"You'll be in standby and ready to come in by waiting in the elevator hallway: the guys are pretty powerless, really, so I don't expect any major trouble." Kage grinned.

"Hmpf… Let's go then." Beta X formed a smug smile.

"We'll give them a scare."

Both guys headed down the stairs into the garage and climbed aboard the black Toyota: Zarashe turned it on and the engine roared as it climbed up the exit ramp and came out into the streets: they began to drive northwards while Kage interacted with his PET and booted up Google Maps.

"2.3 kilometers, 21 minutes… We should get there slightly before 17:50 PM…" He read aloud.

"Alright, _Danna_." Andy joked.

"Maybe we need to get rid of a source using a caliber 46 Colt?" Beta X joked next.

"Nah! Those things always fail. Better use a caliber 73 Winchester shotgun: it's safer!" Zarashe laughed.

"And it turned out that "fuente" can mean both "fountain" and "source" so a guy was trying to blow a fountain up with a Colt!"

17:44 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So! You're the one who helped us break prison and made us come all the way here, huh? What do you want?"

"Simple. We'll revive that great and magnificent organization and then rule over the Network society!"

"Pretty neat, but…"

"…what Navis are we gonna use?"

"Yours, obviously enough."

"That won't do."

"Ah no? Why?"

"Because they were deleted back then."

"WHAT?"

"You're telling us you didn't know? Come on! You're Gauss Magnets' daughter and you don't know what happened back then?"

"Cha! How did cha know my identity?"

"Those magnet earrings give it away, you know! If ya wanted to keep the suspense you should've removed them!"

"Che!"

The former members of "Gospel", Hayami Daisuke, Kazefuki Arashi and Princess Pride, were confronting a woman sitting on an armchair placed behind a marble desk inside of an office room somewhere.

The woman in question was on her 30s.

She had loose brown hair which grew to until it was past the waist and green eyes: her face looked youth yet she had some slight traces of make-up to it.

Her overall height seemed to be a meter and seventy or maybe closer to a meter and eighty.

She was wearing a red and black blouse with a long skirt and red heeled shoes.

"Alright! I'm Tesla Magnets! And I'm gonna see to it that "Gospel" goes back to its past glory!" She banged both fists on the desk.

"So! What do you think happened aboard the _SS Queen Ocean_? Tell us: go ahead." Hayami challenged.

"You escaped on the rudder boats but the police caught you!"

"Oh come on. That's not what happened. The explosions inside of the Cyber World spread to the real world and they knocked us out: next thing we knew we'd been rounded up by the police." Hayami cursed.

"And all of our Navis did get deleted: that "Saito Style" thing that Rock Man kid could do overpowered us. We then had to deploy the Cybeast "Gospel" but we didn't get to see it." Princess Pride told her.

"Impossible! My father's organization couldn't have gone down in such a plebeian manner! You lie! You don't want to admit you had to run away and such you've come up with this tale! Show me the Navis or I'll make you regret challenging ME!" She exclaimed.

"We don't have them! Cha! Couldn't you think of reading the Net Police's Cyber CID report on the _SS Queen Ocean _incident? Huh? Our leader was captured too! Forte was deleted along with the Cybeast "Gospel" he'd absorbed! The ship sunk!" Princess Pride shot back.

"You princess wannabe! Silence! You'll only speak when I give you permission to!"

"Who said we'd be working for you?" Kazefuki grumbled.

"I say it! All I say must be done or else they'll be sacked!"

"There's no legal document anywhere which say we gotta listen to your spoiled daughter petty desires." Hayami argued.

"You owe me BIG! I got you of jail!"

"You shouldn't have bothered. We'll be discharged in three weeks' time."

"WHAT?"

"It's been over three years, you know. And since our crimes were of lesser scale we got sent to the prison for petty crimes like corruption, bribing and such. They decided we'd be safer there."

"IMPOSSIBLE!"

"Not impossible. And why didn't you rescue your dad while you were at it, anyway?"

"I must prove I can do this without him paving the road for me! I'm not even 30 yet! But! I'll see to it that I achieve my goal no matter what happens… With "Neo Gospel"!"

"You'll be laughed at by the Net Police's Cyber CID and those Golden Star guys who gotta be on their way here." Hayami told her.

"Golden Star? What's that? A political party?"

"Oh come on. Do you live in a cave? Golden Star… They are the guys who have replaced the Net Police's Cyber CID as law enforcers… They've got cutting-edge tech and skilled members plus a lot of Navis… No – one can stand up to them and they effectively gather all data regarding crime which they forward to police and such." Princess Pride sighed.

"Impossible!"

"Not impossible at all. It's reality. I'm sure you're pretty sloppy when it comes to computers so I'm sure you've left a trail miles long which those guys must've picked by now. I wouldn't be surprised if that car engine I'm hearing growing closer it's them."

"What!"

Magnets jumped off the armchair and ran to the window to look out into the street and the emergency fire stairs: she saw the black Toyota parking there and four figures climb down to then head somewhere out of her sight.

"The front entrance…!"

"Good luck with them. We're going to the prison."

"Yeah. You're on your own. We won't listen to a spoiled daughter who thinks she can shape reality as she likes."

"Farewell."

"Oh you bunch of fools! Come back here! Kazefuki Arashi! Prove that you're a man!"

"I don't care about any Net Mafias anymore!"

"Hayami Daisuke! Use your brains!"

"That's what I'm doing, granny."

"Princess Pride! Come back here! Women stick together!"

"Not me. I'm gonna go back to my Cream Land."

The three of them came out and Magnets heard how they stepped into an elevator to head down: she banged the desk.

"Fuck them all!"

The elevator pinged again and four sets of footsteps could be heard along with hushed voices: Kage and Andy then stepped inside of the room and Magnets looked puzzled to then burst out laughing.

"THESE are the so-famous Golden Star? A bunch of kids! Don't make me laugh!" She laughed.

"Battle Chip, Hyper Cannon!"

BLAM!

"Wha!"

"Convinced?"

Andy drew the Hyper Cannon and blew out the window thus making Tesla's jaw hit the floor while Kage merely shrugged.

"That's a Net Navi? In the real world? Impossible!"

"Not impossible at all! We've got cutting-edge tech and we've found out how to make Navis enter the real world." Kage replied.

"No way! No – one can have better tech than "Neo Gospel"!"

"… Come on. There's only you and you wanna make us believe you've got a full-fledged organization?" Kage grumbled.

"Tell that to NASA and the Ameroupe Army."

"By all the…! GONNA KILL 'EM!"

BLAM!

"Take a step closer and I'll use this thing to knock you out."

Magnets had suddenly picked a brass statuette and jumped over the desk to try to hit Kage but Andy shot it out of her hands leaving her pale: police sirens began to ring out.

"Ah. The cavalry's here. Well then… Oi! Zarashe! Let's go out through the emergency stairs! It's only four floors!" Kage called out.

"Okay. It's fun to look at a powerless villain wannabe."

"True." Beta X sneered.

"Don't move." Andy warned by aiming the Hyper Cannon at the desk and having a menacing glare.

The four of them ran out into the emergency stairs just as the elevators pinged and Oda, Enzan and six officers rushed in.

"Tesla Magnets! You're under arrest for the hacking of Prison Tokunawaga and meeting with convicted people without a Prison Department authorization!" Oda announced.

"I lost…? Impossible…!" She uttered in disbelief before she fainted from the shock.

"Yo~! Ijuuin! Bite my shiny coat!" Kage called out from the stairs.

"Kage! You won't get away today!"

"Wait, Ijuuin – kun! It could be a trap…! Ah! Youth nowadays…! They rush in without taking advice from their seniors!" Oda called out just as Enzan jumped across the window.

Enzan began to run down the stairs and spotted Kage and the others two floors below him so he decided to go for a risk maneuver and jumped over the handrail of the second floor straight to the ground floor to land atop some garbage bins: he then tried to catch up with the group as they headed for the car but stepped over a small glass vial which Kage had dropped into the ground: a gas came out and Enzan began to cough as his eyes watered.

"T-tear gas…!" He cursed.

"Too bad, Ijuuin. Go try to find a shining Pokémon by digging at random across the grass!" Kage taunted.

"_Au revoir_!"

"Fuck them!"

The four of them climbed into the car and then speeded away while Enzan walked towards the front entrance where the patrol cars had been parked at: the officers were escorting the unconscious Tesla to the car and Oda came out next.

"What happened, Ijuuin – kun?"

"T-tear gas…" He coughed.

"Hum. I suspected they'd get away."

"Damn it. And they laughed at me too."

"Climb in and let's go back to the HQ."

"A-alright… Don't worry, Blues… The effects will dissipate after a while, anyway…" Enzan told him.

"Roger, sir."

"To Oda Land we go!" Oda laughed.

18:43 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Yeah! I'm gonna do them in today… They make my rage boil inside of me!"

"Well! Good luck, then! See ya!"

"All of it! I heard all of it!"

"Man! A fountain! I'm gonna have a sip… I'm so thirsty…!"

"I'm gonna rush to tell Boss!"

"A~ng! PLOF! Huh! No! Don't look at me like that, sir! If you'd seen what happened to me the last time I wanted to drink some water from a fountain…!"

"Video Man and his buddies are back at it, Martha – chan.

"Let them be. I'm finishing this report about their raid to Tesla Magnets' office. It's so laughable, really."

Suzuki and Akemi were sitting in their room: Suzuki was tying something into a notebook computer while Akemi had been reading some text using her Link PET's holographic screen.

"And you should know THIS: the guy who wanted to drink from the fountain was securing another using rope!"

"Yes, Boss! I heard the guy say: "The Superintendent of the TIA makes my rage boil inside of me!"… And he then said he wanted to kill him today's morning!"

"Bloody hell! We gotta do something!"

"Calm down, Boss… It's already arranged for. Mortadelo thinks of everything!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes. Look, look. I bought him some flowers… And I've written an instance to have me be promoted to Superintendent. What do you think of it, Boss?"

"The instance too! The instance too!"

"But, Boss… You forced me to eat the flowers! Isn't that enough? What's wrong with you?"

"Brrr… What we gotta do is warn him and protect him! Let's go the HQ then!"

"Man! A chance to rise and…"

"Secret entrance 17-J… Here it is!"

"Another fountain! Let's see if I can drink some water! CLONG!"

"Alright! Let's go for it!"

"GRRR…! Like it or not I'm gonna drink some water! And if you try something funny I'm gonna put a bullet on you!"

"Yes, I could warn them on time… Imagine! He intended to murder a "source" with a Colt of caliber forty-six!"

"What madness!"

"I'm telling you I'm not mad! Before… The fountains just ran away! But now they attack me! And I gotta defend myself!"

"Calm down, calm down… We're gonna give you a ring to fight against the Avellano Fountain!"

"Those things are a failure! When it comes to "sources" I use my Winchester caliber seventy-four! It's safer!"

"Pun time: "fuente" can mean both "fountain" and "source" so the shotgun man thought he meant an informer!" Video Man laughed over the speakers.

"Oh please… That's so silly!" Suzuki moaned.

"Totally." Akemi didn't find it funny either.

"Beware of desert jackals! Heh, heh, heh!"

"Tune in soon for the next part! Mwah, hah, hah!"


	40. Chapter 40: Confession

**Chapter 40: Confession **

08:48 AM (Japan Time), Sunday August the 4th…

"… My, my, my… Where the hell is my life hiding at?"

Oda walked into the Net Police's Cyber CID offices only to be met by Enzan's skeptical face.

"I mean… What's up?" He improvised.

"What's up, you ask, sir? We're fed up with your lame jokes, sir. With all due respect." Enzan replied.

"That's what's up." Obihiro added as he popped his head out through his cubicle's door.

"You can't be serious…" Oda laughed.

"We are." Blues dully added.

"Mr. Superintendent. You're not funny at all." Torolov added while looking up from some documents.

"What… They turned you into a bureaucrat, Torolov – kun?" Oda asked with a smile.

"Wrong. I'm trying to write a draft for my report about Golden Star's activities." He dully replied.

"Oh, I see! Then you can send it to Sharo along with a snowflake." Oda grinned.

"Ahem! You're – not – funny - sir." Enzan told him in a deliberately slow manner.

"Ahem, ahem! Then I'll say just one thing… I've got _this_!"

He took out a Harley - Davidson miniature.

"So?" Enzan asked.

"It's my lucky charm! It means that the summer lottery will befall upon our Cyber CID! Heh, heh, heh!"

09:02 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Netto? Saito? Can I come in?"

"Sure, Papa."

"Come in!"

Yuuichirou stepped into Netto's bedroom: he was sitting on the chair next to the desk and working on the summer homework while Saito (using a "Copy Roid" and still having his Navi bodysuit on) was reading data over Netto's Link PET.

"So! How do you feel? We haven't had a proper talk yet but… You've been meeting with Kage as of late, yet… I've got the feeling that you've been meeting all year long and not just this summer." Yuuichirou told them while sitting on the bed.

Netto glanced at Saito who nodded in approval: Netto stood up and closed the door before sitting on the chair which he turned around to face Yuuichirou.

"Yeah. It's true that I've been meeting with Miquel a lot. But those meetings were just to reinforce the image."

"Reinforce the image…? You mean… To continue on leaving a said impression of something…?" Yuuichirou frowned.

"Maybe I shouldn't beat around the bush… I know everything he's done and thought over this year…"

"He even shared his thoughts with you?"

"Not exactly… Well… Maybe this will make it clear."

Netto opened the closet and took out a sports bag: he opened it and rummaged inside to then take out a mask which he handed over to Yuuichirou: he frowned and then looked at it to realize that the mask was a reproduction of Kage's face: he gasped.

"But… How's this possible? All proof showed that he was a separate person during 1st grade and… Ah! _Noir_! I get it..."

"Yeah. _Noir_, or, rather Kuroshiro Oriol… He approached me back then and we had meetings… He told me about them and what they intended to do and the idea of being able to help without being targeted again by those who feared me attracted me… In short: I could punish evil-doers and such and everyone would think it's a separate guy."

"Hum. So you saw an exit out of your depression into this… And you must've begun to get involved in the summer… That tale about Chicago and all was a believable fabrication to justify why Kage, or, rather, Kuroshiro, had to disappear… And when "Kage" reemerged that would ne you… No – one would tell you apart… And no – one would dare to try to remove the VP's hood and risk being expulsed." Yuuichirou calmly deduced.

"We're sorry to have lied and kept it secret, but… We wanted to wait until everything was on the last stages… And now with Zero's capacity clocking at about 81%... It should be at 100% in another 19 days, more or less, and then we could begin the auctions…" Netto sighed.

"I understand. You needed a way out and a way to erase what you conceived as the sources of your depression… I am to assume that "Andy" back then was Legato?"

"Correct. He used a holographic disguise. But that wouldn't work for me because I needed to look like a different Navi in case I was scanned by someone or something so they designed a program to alter my code while keeping a core fraction intact… You didn't pick it up because when I don't need to use it immediately I can split it off in portions which I store in different parts as backup data…" Saito admitted.

"I see… By the way, you two… I've been thinking about it but… I've always had the feeling that Slur had not just been the "secretary" all along but another person as well elsewhere: Nazonazo Mary, a passenger in the ill-fated _SS Scheherazade Symphony_ in which you got attacked in an accidental manner… And I haven't told anyone because I thought it was silly but ever since I heard the name "Hades" I began to wonder if it wasn't as simple as an anagram… Anagrams as aliases were popular in my youth, so… And I did find one curious combination: Shade. Kanou Shade."

"… Yeah. You're right, Papa. Nazonazo Mary was Slur – sama and Kanou Shade – san was President Hades… They were there to fill in for the necessary pool of witnesses and to ensure everything proceeded according to Kyundai's own script…" Netto admitted.

"Kyundai's own script? You mean that everything was plotted by him? But he had unbreakable alibis in both times the other passengers, the former WWW members, were found dead…" Yuuichirou frowned.

As a response, Netto opened a drawer with a key and took out a report inside of a folder with Golden Star's logo on the cover with the words _SS Scheherazade Symphony - For Your Eyes Only_ stamped on it: Yuuichirou was surprised but made no comment as he picked it and began to read it: the more he read the more surprised he became and when he finally ended he looked up at Netto with a serious look.

"… You knew he was going to murder them and instead of stopping him you allowed him to continue?"

"I didn't make that decision, Papa. President Hades and Slur – sama argued that given how these men had a back-story of violent crimes and even murder then any jury would've sentenced them to capital sentence to begin with… And since Kyundai seemed to be the most cool-headed and less dangerous of the three we let him be…" He argued back.

"Yeah. Adult stuff is dealt by adults. But that's nothing compared to what "Twilight" was intending for Oriol to do when he was in Nebula. That of the ship was just a show." Saito added.

"Twilight…? Nebula…? Kuroshiro was part of Nebula and even so you trusted him?"

"Of course. He'd been forcibly dragged into the picture and he managed to escape just in time before that man could turn him into a puppet with no emotions or memories. He still has nightmares from time to time from those forced VR sessions too. And when compared to Regal then "Twilight" was a million times more dangerous. But Forte did all of us a favor by blowing up the sub with both of them onboard it. Two birds killed off with one stone."

"Hum… But there's something strange here. According to the plan, Kyundai should've been the one to shoot his own arm and then feign having been shot with the earlier setup… And if Koyota was dead… Then how did you get hurt…? It couldn't be… Netto…"

"… I did myself, yeah. It was my way of killing off that memory and all those phantoms haunting me as well as confirming to Slur – sama that I wouldn't falter. I'd do what it had to be done without question. I passed the trial." Netto calmly replied.

"Oriol was against the idea but when Slur – sama began to insist he withdrew: even though she will listen to any command from President Hades, she wanted to remember them that what held the group together was her presence and that she was the one who motivated them to start the business." Saito detailed.

"Hum. A trial… And a physical way of breaking away with your own disgraces… Well… If you were so decided to go along with the whole business and all… But have you thought of how you justify the whole fuss you set up just to rescue that agent from the hospital?"

"Obviously. It can be viewed as a large-scale drill in case there was a major tragedy and see how could hospitals react like… Besides, no – one got seriously hurt…" Netto told Yuuichirou.

"Hum. Passable… So. What exactly are _Purgatory_ and _Paradise_? How do they fit in the overall picture?"

"_Purgatory_ is a mobile sea fortress, a mix of submarine and warship, designed to be camouflaged… It's parked at the harbor close to our HQ but no – one can see it… The whole thing is intended to be a shell to protect Zero… And it'll serve as our definitive HQ… We've had to deter several attempts by Yakuza gangs to attempt on our present HQ: we'll have moved there by September…" Netto described.

"While _Paradise_ is an unmanned space station in which rockets loaded with "DC" are stored and ready to launch… That's how we can deploy them… We warp them back there and the Navi crew is activated to refurbish them."

"Good. If you will be in a safer place then I see no trouble. Regarding Hikawa – kun… Did you tell him anything when you had to bring him to _Purgatory_ so as to negotiate?"

"No, I didn't tell him back then, but… I've already told him when I invited him aboard _Purgatory_… Obihiro knows too… But we've requested of them to keep it a secret… There's no way we'll tell Laika or Dingo, though. Enzan was the first to know but to keep the suspense up we've suppressed his memories of that evening for the time being…"

"So that's how it is… At least you've been honest with two of your friends, anyway… I agree that Ijuuin – kun should be kept ignorant for a while until you've reached the 100% mark…"

"Incidentally… Something curious happened with the super-computer a while ago… Part of its data split off and gathered in one spot… When Slur – sama checked it out it turned out that the data had become a Net Navi formed on its own… We named him Zero EXE."

"Wow! A Net Navi formed on its own inside of the super-computer, you say…! Fascinating…!"

"We've got a picture of him too." Netto smiled.

He picked the PET and displayed a picture of Zero: Yuuichirou adjusted his glasses and looked at it with obvious interest.

"I see. What kind of behavior he has?"

"Well. He's pretty calm. He takes care of the super-computer and such but his existence is a highly kept secret… We want to have him as a surprise to any hacking attempts from hostile parties…"

"I see. His presence there would prove to them that it's impossible to catch you guys with the pants down…"

"Exactly."

"Well. As long as you don't get involved in big danger then I don't see a problem to the question of your double identity… You even managed to find the time for studies as well…"

"Yeah! My grades were excellent, weren't they?"

"Of course. So, tell me more about Kuroshiro."

"About Oriol? Well. His face is the one I assume when I get into the role of "Kage Miquel"… He was a normal guy who lost his parents in a car accident and had to be raised in an orphanage… He was very intelligent and skilled at computers… Then that "Twilight" man abducted him and tried to use him as a child assassin…" He trailed off.

"What!"

"And I think you can guess who he was aiming for."

"You two…?"

"Yeah. We two. But Oriol was horrified by the prospect. He also had too strong of a will to be brainwashed just like that… So he ended up stealing his projects and completing them… By "projects" we mean the trio of Video Man, Burner Man and Needle Man plus Legato… He prepared to flee at a moment's notice and when Regal unleashed "Nebula Grey" to then oversee everything from his submarine "Twilight" snuck there intending to finish off Regal and become the Boss of Nebula. Oriol ran away and stumbled upon Mr. Shade who'd been trying to unmask the man. Mr. Shade told us an uncle of his, a Republican Party member of the state of Arizona, had sent him as cannon fodder to see if "Twilight" would respect their deal regarding some access codes for a military base of the Marines somewhere… Mr. Shade barely escaped alive from that encounter and began his researches… In the midst of them he was approached by Slur – sama who saw potential on him… They then joined forces and began to discuss on how they would materialize their alliance which was temporally titled "Serenade's Heirs"…"

"Serenade's Heirs… Can't say it isn't a bad name…"

"Yeah. They were going by that name until Oriol came up with that "Golden Star" design one day he was drawing things at random while trying to brainstorm and he thought that it sounded cool. He suggested it to Slur – sama and Mr. Shade and both agreed."

"Legato quickly picked me because he was so unlike Blues. I mean, he's got a more "dynamic" personality because he's prone to joking, he can be kind with people and such." Saito admitted.

"I'd noticed that, yes. So is there something else you feel like telling me, you two?"

"Well… Maybe about one piece of technology which is extremely secret: only two samples exist in the whole world… We name it the "cyborg body" and it was invented by "Twilight"… It was an early attempt to "humanize" Net Navis… Looking back… I haven't been truly truthful regarding Oriol but that's how he firstly told me his tale was…" Netto trailed off.

"So you mean that he's a Net Navi to begin with?"

"True… He's named Umbra. But he's been installed in the "cyborg body" for so long that he's begun to think of himself as just a human. That's why he elaborated that back-story… It served as something passable for our first meeting almost two years ago… It wasn't until last June that he did tell me about this true nature…"

"So! What's this "cyborg body" about?"

"90% of it is just like a normal human's body but the brain has been replaced by a cybernetic one where the Navi can Plug-In and then be installed within the core section of it: his running personality file is carefully run upon the body's brain… Some implants in the CNS allow for the decoding of the brain's signals… And a network of intravenous nanomachines to help monitor the life-signs… This network helps the body remain active and in a "sleep" status when the Navis leaves it. The body has to be genetically engineered too…" Saito detailed.

"And that's why you've kept it a tight secret because there are many probable moral problems with it… So, Umbra or Kuroshiro uses one and the other one is used by Slur?"

"No. She uses a "Copy Roid" and a program to imitate clothing so as to get into the role of the "secretary"… The other is a spare which is being stored in cold storage just in case…" Netto corrected.

"So you've really found three methods to bridge the gaps between both worlds… Will you give to the Science Labs the research data on the "Copy Roids" and the "Dimensional Areas" like Slur said?"

"We will. Expect it to be there around the end of the month: we want to make sure Zero doesn't pick any leak or something like that… Are you being careful with the second "Copy Roid" which was brought from Onibi Island?" Saito asked.

"Yeah, we are. Less than 10 people know about it and they're all trustable persons… It's kept in an armored vault secured by a special coding system which is very hard to decode… And we've rigged it with a self-destruct device was it to be used by a non-registered Navi… The core would implode ten seconds after Plug – In and there's no overriding system because that's set on the firmware."

"Good. That's just what we needed. Ours incorporate a biometric system synched with each member's nanomachines… If their heartbeats, EEG readouts and other variables don't fall within specified ranges then the "Copy Roid" will lock up and not start up." Saito explained while nodding in approval.

"You seem to take every possible caution against your technology being used by others who would do harm with them… It's good to analyze all possibilities and not take anything for granted." Yuuichirou sounded like he approved of it.

"That's our style, yeah." Netto blinked him an eye.

"Incidentally… Why do Video Man and the others feel so motivated to do that comic book adaptation?"

"Dunno. Maybe because they feel more buddy-like between them given how they're veterans and they thought they could do something which would contribute to the overall morale."

"True. Could you tell me one joke?"

"Hum… Oh yeah! Here! Grrr…! What kind of desert jackal is trying to do me in?" Netto began with a grin.

"Desert jackal…? My! I always thought you were a coastline jackal, Boss. Oh crap! What have I said? What have I said?" Saito continued to then sound like he didn't get the point.

"So it revealed that he thought his Boss was a jackal? That's some ungrateful employee!" Yuuichirou laughed.

"Yeah! And the guy fled by disguising as a snail and riding a fireworks rocket while his Boss threw a razor at him. Truth is: Mortadelo tends to screw up with any intelligent systems Filemón comes up with. For example: Filemón picked a mobile cannon with a detonator lever and set it to face the office's door while also tying a string to link doorknob and the lever… The plan was that if anyone opened the door then the cannon would hit them yet…" Netto trailed off.

"…the door opened inwards! And Mortadelo walked in: he hit the cannon, turned it around and detonated it blackening Mr. Super who then pursued Filemón with a safe before driving him through it!"

"Really…" Yuuichirou laughed.

"So, Papa… You'll tolerate our activities?" Netto asked.

"Of course. Just don't get into real danger."

"We'll try not to. Besides, when the new course begins we'll be busy with studies so we'll keep some distance…"

"Take care. And don't worry: I won't tell Mama. We don't need to frighten her. But I'm glad to see you've grown up too."

Yuuichirou came out and both Netto and Saito sighed in relief: Netto then headed into the bathroom and picked a glass with water on it which he slowly drank before leaving it atop the sink and sighing in relief.

"Man. My throat's dry. But at least he recognized our intentions. That's good." Netto told Saito.

"Obviously, Netto – kun."

Both brothers shook hands and smiled at each other…


	41. Chapter 41: Renegade

**Chapter 41: Renegade**

18:18 PM (Japan Time), Sunday August the 4th…

"… Video Man."

"Legato – sama! What are thou command?"

"Have you seen the newbie? He's not in the rebuilding capsule and that's where he should be at."

"No, sir."

"Burner Man! What about you?"

"No, _Danna_."

"Needle Man!"

"Shah, shah, shah! Negative, Boss!"

"Then where the fuck did the guy go to?"

"Is there a problem? Legato."

"Ma'am! The new project, ma'am… They are not in their capsule and I was trying to see if anyone had seen of them… This system has only one entrance and exit after all…"

"The new project…? Who was it again?"

Legato had been questioning the three Navis about something when Slur floated down into the ground: everyone quickly kneeled and Legato reported while Slur seemingly frowned.

"Plant Man."

"A former companion of Dark Man… Hmmm… And he was not in the rebuilding capsule? How far had the rebuilding progressed?"

"It was 95% completed. The body, operating system and mind was rebuilt and the only thing left was memory purge. And I'm afraid that it's accessed its memories somehow, skipping the locks, and has escaped to go for revenge… What should we do?"

"Who gave consent for that?"

"President Hades…"

"Is that so? One would believe he had learned the lesson from the time of Bomber Man and Stone Man." Slur frowned.

"Obviously, since the current plan involved purging the memories… It would seem something has not totally worked."

"Che. Look for them and dispose of them before they can become a menace for our reputation. With Zero at 83% we are still far from achieving full capacity and start auctioning the nodes' access codes: if we want the important agencies to believe in the fairness of our offers then such eyesores must be sterilized at once before they become an infection or, worse, a plague." She commanded.

"Roger, ma'am."

"Who is in charge of watching the exit?"

"Dark Man was supposed to but he developed a minor infection which had to be treated before it could spread… Some kind of new malware which attempts to steal any bank-related data from the Navi… It could've revealed our location." Legato explained.

"I see. Did you not think of placing a replacement?"

"No, not really… Since there has never been any trouble with unauthorized personnel coming in or out…" He apologized.

"True. It cannot be helped, then."

"I shall be going ASAP."

"Go. You three resume what you were doing. Do not speak of this to anyone and instead prepare another of those… spectacles… to keep the morale up. Understood?"

"ROGER, MA'AM!"

"Go."

18:27 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Well! The racing game is as fun as ever. We even saw Beta X there: he really is a racing fan."

"Yeah! Now come back home."

"I'm on my way."

"On your way to Hell."

"Who…? Wha!"

"Heh, heh, heh… Let's go to a discreet spot… Here, this old warehouse will do fine… Heh, heh, heh…"

"You're…!"

Rock Man had come out of a Cyber City building labeled "GAME CENTER GAME SOUL" and had been chatting with Netto when someone taller than him suddenly seized him from behind and dragged him inside of a warehouse building: the attacker turned out to be Plant Man who had an evil smile on his face.

"You died YEARS ago!" Rock Man complained.

"I know! But someone began to rebuild me and although they tried to delete my memories to turn me into their pawn I escaped and I've prepared a proper revenge… Plant Weed!"

"Wha! Let go of me, you… Hmmmpfff!"

"No – one will get in the way! I've cut off your PET transmission and turned off your transmitter… Hmmm… Good feeling, yes… But this thing is on the way… Let's remove it!"

Plant Man suddenly formed some weeds which emerged from the ground and tied around Rock Man's arms and legs spreading them open: Plant Man did something unexpected then: he moved in closer and began to kiss Rock Man who was taken aback: he began to massage Rock Man's body with his hands before smirking and inputting some commands through a holographic screen thus disabling all of his bodysuit.

"My. What a figure. Heh, heh, heh."

He then tossed him into the ground and quickly used the weeds to immobilize his arms behind his body and set another across his mouth to muffle his cries of help: a third one kept his legs open and a fourth one descended from the ceiling to connect with the one tying his arms: he was lifted into the air and suspended there while Plant Man moved in behind him and sneered as he used his fingers to pinch his nipples.

"Didn't you know? I like humanoid Navis like you… Back then I was more focused on the resurrection of Forte but if I had the chance then I could've done this before… Yet your body has been upgraded during this time: it looks more suitable to my arts! Heh, heh, heh."

He formed a cock of his own and began to rape Rock Man from behind while he toyed with his nipples and his own cock: Rock Man moaned in agony and Plant Man's psychotic face just grew wider.

"Struggle in vain! Soon you'll be my pet."

"YOU LOWLIFE~! FLAME SWORD!"

"Uwa~h! Who in the…! An interloper…!"

"YOU BASTARD! I'M SO GONNA KILL YOU~!"

Legato had shown up on the scene in a enraged state and wielding a Flame Sword which burnt all of the weeds: Rock Man hit the floor and remained there while looking paralyzed by the shock: Legato quickly warped and appeared behind Plant Man to drive his Flame Sword through his body thus setting on it fire.

"DIE, DIE AND DIE~!" He roared.

"IMPOSSIBLE~! MY PET…! UWRA~H!"

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! How did this happen…! How did this happen…! I'm to blame…! My Saito – kun…! My best friend…!"

"L… Lega…to…?"

"Yeah! Me, Saito – kun! It's alright! Hang in there!"

"Is that… you…?" Saito slowly asked.

"Of course! Can't you recognize my voice? Here: let's re-activate your bodysuit and get you to home…"

Legato interacted with the holographic screen and fixed Saito's bodysuit yet he didn't come closer as if fearing an impulse of fighting back from Saito: he hadn't moved at all and he didn't seem to be capable of seeing anything despite that his eyes were wide open.

"Saito – niisan! What in the world happened?" Netto asked.

"Ne…tto…ku…n… I'm broken… I'm broken… I'm broken… I'm a broken doll… A broken boy…" He muttered as if in trance.

"Plant Man. He raped him."

"WHAT?"

"We're to blame: we did intend to purge his memories but he got around the locks on them and replayed them before he ran away from the HQ and I then heard you'd gone missing all of a sudden from Beta X… I'll contact him to tell him there's no need to search anymore… Look, Hikari… That's what we should do. Retrieve Saito – kun and place him on your bed using the "Copy Roid"… Keep him company and try not to touch or come too close to him… He might hit you out of instinct… _Noir_ – sama will surely apologize to your father too even though it wasn't his project but since he's responsible for your safety then…" Legato exposed.

"A-alright… Plug Out."

"I'll go back to base after making sure there aren't any records left anywhere…" Legato told him.

"Gotcha… Plug In! Rock Man EXE, Transmission."

"… Is this… your bed…? Netto – kun…?"

"Not just "my" bed… It's yours too!"

"I'm broken, you know… Sorry. You'll have to replace me… I'm a broken toy… Broken toys are… tossed away…"

18:39 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Don't say nonsense! A Navi isn't a toy! They're partners! And you're my Saito – niisan! Who'd throw his brother away? No! Snap out of it: we've both been through worse. Heck, you went MIA after the destruction of the Super Cybeast and it took you _a whole year_ to return."

"I don't remember much of that… My body probably broke down very badly and… I needed a lot of time to rebuild it…"

"Alright, alright… Calm down. Calm down. Who scored the best result at the racing game this week?"

"Beta X…"

"What do you think of the guy? Is he a nice buddy?"

"Yeah… Nice guy… Cocky… Strong… Agile…"

"That's it… Think in something else… Which starter are you gonna pick for the new _Pocket Monsters_ game? Speaking of which: what will you pick? White or Black?"

"White… Light is white… I'll pick Flame…"

"Good! Then I'll go for Water."

Netto was trying to calm Saito down as he laid face-up on the bed and he had an absent gaze to him: Netto was sitting on a chair next to the bed and trying to look animated.

"The auto-phone…"

"I'll pick it. Hello?"

"Netto! Wouldn't you know?"

"What, Meiru?"

"Kage – kun has an elusive girlfriend!"

"Well. And what if? He's free to make his choices in life."

"Tee, heh, heh. But I'll end up finding out their ID."

Meiru turned out to be the caller: she had a smug smile drawn across her face to which Netto replied with a skeptical look.

"Don't be so skeptical!"

"I find it hard for Miquel to be involved in some complicated girlfriend tale or another. He's devoted to his organization's purpose."

"Oh yeah! I don't doubt that but he surely meets her in secret: else why would he have a golden ring with the initials "K. O." on it?"

"Maybe it's a memento of a parent?"

"Oh! I hadn't thought of that… It could his father's or mother's wedding ring or engagement ring too!" She gasped.

"See? I told cha were rushing it all." Yaito told her in the background while sounding skeptical too.

"Sorry, Yaito – chan. I got thrilled and thought…"

"Meiru – chan. Next time be more rational and don't use _clichés_ as basis to justify a theory 'cause that ain't evidence." Roll sighed.

"So I take it that the "K" is for "Kage" and the "O" is the parent's initial, then… Olga, Ophelia… Huh… I can't think of many names. But I'll find another one somewhere, anyway." Meiru muttered.

"If that's all then good luck and see ya around."

"Alright. See ya."

Netto finished the call and sighed as he glanced at Saito again: Yuuichirou came in at that moment while looking grave and closed the door behind him before sitting on the chair next to the bed.

"Saito. Me. Yuuichirou… Can you hear me?"

"Yeah… I can, but… I can't see anything… I've gone blind?"

"Navis don't go blind. The shock has made you "shut down" your vision systems and you've only left the hearing and speech systems online because you don't want to be deaf and mute too."

"Papa, Oriol called?"

"Yes. He apologized in an honest manner and he was obviously distraught about the whole business. He really cared about you two and I could see that Legato was having a hard time repressing his anger: it's obvious that they value you as good companions." Yuuichirou sighed.

"Yeah… We're good pals… Papa… Will Saito – niisan recover? Will he go back to normal?" Netto asked.

"That's his choice. I can't force it."

"My choice…? I can return to normal… when I want to…?" Saito slowly asked with a hint of relief.

"Of course." Yuuichirou smiled at him.

"Huh… I'm starting to regain sight… I can see… the ceiling… it has a lot of dust on it… weird…" He muttered while apparently focusing his sight on the ceiling.

"Well. It's not that easy to cleanse the ceiling."

"You know! That guy who was talking about doing the Superintendent of the TIA was found by Mr. Super and he questioned him he said there'd been a mistake because he meant a dog named "Superintendent" which belonged to his _aunt_ and had the habit of biting his leg every time he went for a visit. So all of the attempts by M&F to protect him were really in vain! The pun is that "TIA" can be read as "_tía_" or "aunt" and that's led to a mistaken idea from time to time!" Netto grinned.

"Heh… Really… And there was one time when Mr. Super gave Mortadelo a folded newspapers and he read them from the downside upwards thus making Filemón think it was the Soviet press!" Saito began to get animated as evidenced by his growing smile.

"And then there was a radio broadcast saying someone had had their pants stolen in the middle of the street… And that "someone" turned out to be Mr. Super! And when Mr. Super said that the high-ranking politicians wanted to do lock in jail the villains…"

"…Mortadelo told Filemón he'd bring him tobacco when he dropped to visit him…! As if he was a villain himself!" Saito laughed.

"That Mortadelo man sure is resentful of his Boss." Yuuichirou laughed at it as well.

"There's more! Mr. Super showed them a timer bomb and Mortadelo suggested setting it at 4 PM because there was still one hour's time left but it turned out that his clock was one hour behind and the bomb exploded with them still holding it!" Netto kept at it.

"When they had to go for a mission for "Vincent's Men" they were told they had a vehicle with all they needed parked in front of the main entrance: Mortadelo asked if it had radio and Mr. Super said that there indeed was a radio onboard… Onboard the cart filled with weapons and a portable radio…" Saito's eyes began to shine with amusement and he directed his glance at the other two.

"Here's one more for the record! Alright! We gotta take down that shooter! Do you have a plan?"

"Yeah, Boss… Here you have. The only thing I don't have on me is sausage!"

"PLAN! NOT "PAN"!" Netto exclaimed.

"Ah! Well! Then speak clearly! It sounds like you're stuttering!"

"Pan… Bread. He missed the "L" sound." Yuuichirou chuckled.

"I know! One distracts him shooting from here, another one comes up and holds him and yet another one gets his weapon!" Saito told him.

"Huh… Excuse me, but… You didn't get the highest notes in Math, did you?" Netto sounded unimpressed.

"Well. Not really… Why'd you ask?" Saito wondered aloud.

"See! One, another one and another one makes three! And there are only two of us!" Netto argued back.

"Oh. True! I didn't count us well…"

"Didn't count us well… And there's just the two of them! Hard to believe, really…" Yuuichirou laughed.

"But, whatever… Let's use the twin brothers disguise and all will go fine enough!" Saito announced.

"Then it turns out some thieves steal the cart and they tell a policeman standing next to the patrol car: he begins to radio the HQ but then finds out his mike has a carrot on the other end and someone has just stolen the patrol car in front of three guys' eyes!" Netto was thrilled by now.

"Another example! They get told to check a clandestine weapons factory in one apartment building: they get told they'll get a lock-pick from one of the agents and it turns out to be a tree log!"

"I see. To use as battering ram… Wait. The joke is that they had to carry it all the way to the apartment building?"

"Correct!"

"Whoa! I can move by now… The temblors halted too…" Saito muttered as he sat up on the bed and looked at his gloved hands.

"Thanks goodness!" Netto sighed in relief.

"See? You can overcome anything, Saito. I always believed you had some hidden potential." Yuuichirou told him.

"Yeah… No punk is gonna scare me! Speaking of punks, I guess Punk will be bored by now… He must be looking for a way to have fun elsewhere or in another form… And Enzan – kun must be training hard while exploiting the full capacities of the VR simulator…" Saito smiled.

"Sure. The guy must be doing extra hours in the gym too to maintain a good figure and be ready for any fight. Maybe next time we'll do a Mexican stand-off with the PETs." Netto suggested.

"Guess I'll start fishing out more jokes to tell our classmates: we'll see how they'll react. I'm sure they'll have fun."

The three of them laughed aloud in a jovial tone of voice…


	42. Chapter 42: Remembering

**Chapter 42: Remembering**

10:22 AM (Japan Time), Wednesday August the 8th…

"… Yo. Oriol. Today I feel like looking back to our first meeting back when 1st grade began… You've got the record, right?"

"Of course."

"Good. Play it."

"One moment, please… 2008… Here it is."

"Full-screen mode…"

Kage stepped into Kuroshiro's dorm room inside of _Purgatory_ while sounding amused: Kuroshiro drew his Link PET and interacted with its menu for some seconds before bringing up a video which had been recorded with this PET: it displayed a classroom in which Netto, Meiru, Yaito and Dekao along with other students were present: "Kage", or, rather Kuroshiro, was standing in front of the blackboard: the date "MONDAY 17/09/2008 09:05 AM" was printed in the lower right corner of the screen.

"…our new transfer student: Kage Miquel – kun…"

"Kage Miquel. I look forward to sharing this class with all of you."

"Heh! Looks weak… I'll pulverize 'em!" Dekao boasted.

"Ooyama – kun!"

"_Hai_, Sensei?"

"Come to the staff room at break time. We NEED to TALK." The teacher told him.

"_H-hai_~…"

"By all the… We get a new student who looks like a nice person and he greets with a bully's speech. This guy…!" Meiru complained.

"That Fatman won't change!" Yaito complained next.

"Guess so." Netto dully replied.

"Alright, Kage – kun. The seat to the right of Hikari – kun is empty so you can pick it."

"_Hai_, Sensei… Hi. I'm Kage Miquel. Nice to meet you."

"That's my motto, yeah."

"I'm Andy."

"Rock Man EXE."

"Good. The rest of introductions will be done at break time. Let's start by explaining the timetables and the subjects."

"… Here I stopped recording and I began again at break time." Oriol announced as he brought up another file.

"…alright, that's the break time bell… Ooyama – kun! Come with me to the staff room NOW."

"_Hai_~…"

"Really… Asking for trouble on the first day…" Meiru complained.

"I told cha: that Fatman guy won't change!"

"Obviously." Netto boringly replied.

"By the way, Hikari – kun… You wouldn't happen to be THE Hikari Netto – kun, right?" "Kage" asked of him.

"What? Oh yeah. That used to be me, yeah."

"Used to?"

"I quit. I'm now a vulgar civilian who sucks at Net Battles and can only win about half of them." He merely shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah. We grew outta the stuff. We've decided to return to our roots and now we've got trouble beating even Guts Man."

"What's Ooyama – kun's problem, then?"

"His problem? He's too arrogant. He thinks he's the center of the Universe just because he's the strongest in our class and because he gets cocky he begins to boast that he's the strongest in the _whole school_. There are obviously strongest guys in here but he won't even try to match his strength because he says it'd be boring to see Guts Man beat them up one after the other. That idiot. You gotta fight the opponent to realize the extent of their power!" Netto grumbled.

"S-sorry… I didn't want to anger you…"

"I know ya didn't. It's just that that guy drives us mad."

"Say, Kage – kun…"

"Yes, Sakurai – san?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"E~h? H-huh! N-no, miss…"

"… That question really took me aback." Kuroshiro admitted.

"Heh, heh. Leave it to Meiru to attack you from an unexpected angle to begin with." Netto grinned.

"…By the way… Ayanokouji – san, Glyde – san's Operator… She wouldn't happen to be a member of THE Ayanokouji family, right? The owners of Gabcom Inc.?" "Andy" was asking Glyde.

"That is correct."

"But she doesn't like to show off either." Roll shrugged.

"Guts, guts! This guy looks like it'll be easy to beat!"

"You shut up." Roll snapped at him.

"Guts! Guts Man didn't want to anger Roll – chan! Guts!"

"Then keep your trap shut."

"Hey, cha! Do cha go to the disco?" Yaito suddenly asked.

"No way! I'm not even 14, Miss!" "Kage" protested.

"Tee, heh, heh. Gotcha, cute."

"C-cute? Me? Is that a joke, Miss?"

"Cha never know! Tee, heh, heh!"

"Come on, Yaito… Don't drive him mad." Netto sighed.

"… Honestly speaking… That moment was magical for me. Everyone wanted to be friendly with me… But it also had a hint of sadness to it because your state was worse than I'd imagined… You looked at life with an absolute boredom as if there wasn't anything worth on it… Well. I guess we can skip one month forward to our first secret meeting. Is that alright?" Kuroshiro sighed.

"Yeah. On that day we then went separate ways to have breakfast and then when the day ended you told us your address… Skip one month forward, yeah."

"What do you think now of our first encounter, Saito – kun?"

"Like Oriol said… We were skeptical about what life could offer us and such we looked at everything in a negative manner…"

"Next one: Wednesday October the 17th, 2008. 17:17 PM."

"…and thus I went and saved that Miss from the bullies!" Dekao was saying as the group came out of the school.

"There were no bullies and no Miss, Dekao. You're trying to play the hero to Miquel again. Miquel! Don't believe everything he says: he lives in the clouds." Netto grumbled.

"G-guess so."

"Oi! Netto! Why do ya sabotage my heroic actions?" Dekao grumbled as he glanced at him.

"Because you make them up."

"YEAH! YOU FATMAN AND LIAR!" Both girls yelled.

"YIKES!"

"That can't end up well." Hikawa Jr. muttered close by.

"By the way, Hikari – kun… Can I invite you to my place today? You already invited me to yours, so I think I should be returning the favor…"

"Sure. See ya tomorrow, guys."

"And tomorrow I'll become the Greatest Hero Ever!"

"SHADDUP YOU DAMNED FATMAN!"

"Really… Ooyama – kun doesn't learn anything! And he barely passes the exams." "Andy" was protesting.

"I know. Guess it's an idiot's dumb luck." Rock Man drily replied.

"Let's skip forward to 17:47 PM…" Kuroshiro announced.

"…So? What do you think, Hikari – kun?"

"Nice. Practical and comfortable."

"Thank you. Can I make you some tea?"

"Thanks."

"Go ahead and sit on that sofa. I'll be right back."

"Hum, hum… Huh? A Nintendo DS… Wow! _Pocket Monsters Platinum_, the new game which came out a month ago… Hey! Miquel. You're into _Pocket Monsters_?" Netto called out.

"Yeah, I am!"

"Nice. I've got _Diamond_. Maybe we can trade one of these days or have a Wi-Fi battle too!" Netto grinned.

"Here's the tea." "Kage" returned with a platter having a teapot and two teacups.

"Hmm! Green tea: my favorite. Well. Cheers!"

"Cheers."

"You look thoughtful, Andy – kun."

"Well, I am, yeah."

"… Hey. Miquel. You there? You look absent-minded."

"… Well… Truth is… There's something I gotta talk to you about… My name isn't Kage Miquel. I'm named Kuroshiro Oriol."

"HUH? Why would you lie to everyone, then?"

"It was necessary. I'm here to create an illusion."

"An illusion? What does that have to do with me?"

"A lot. I'm going to offer you the possibility of erasing the ghosts of the past and become a new person… Someone who will bring stability to society… And this time under a new name and face… The name of Kage Miquel and my face…" Kuroshiro explained.

"So you know about that of two months ago?"

"I know a lot about you. I researched all files on you… And I'm trying to help you. I feel like I should."

"I should be honest, too. My name isn't Andy either and this isn't my real form… Here."

"W-whoa! You look… similar to Blues!"

"Yeah. I'm Legato. I'm his antithesis."

"Antithesis…? Like Rock Man DS…?"

"The same concept but I'm a million times better than that cheap imitator, really." Legato explained.

"So… That tale about the origin of your name and all was part of that deception too? What are you really, Kuroshiro?"

"A former Nebula member…"

"Nebula, you say!"

"But I wasn't there because I liked it! I was dragged there against my will and they tried to turn me into an assassin. But I escaped them."

"I can see the fear in you… You aren't making this up."

"It's reasonable that you'd be skeptical, but… Now I'm gonna say the truth to you, Netto – kun. Sorry for the change, but I feel like calling you by your first name would be friendlier…"

"I don't mind. So, what are you suggesting?" Netto asked.

"See… My plan is to keep using this ID for the rest of the year. Then, in the summer, we'll stage some tale to make me vanish off the radar and then you can begin your training… By the time "Kage Miquel" resurfaces, it will be you who will be assuming that ID… And since there'll be plenty of witnesses and evidence that we're two separate persons then…"

"I see…! I see… Clever, very clever… I'd be like a secret agent or something like that, you mean to say?" Netto guessed.

"Yeah. A member of "Golden Star", the organization which will bring stability to society… As Serenade wished…"

"Serenade! So you're doing this because Serenade would've wished for this to happen?" Netto gasped.

"Serenade…" Rock Man muttered.

"We were inspired by a Navi who was a friend of Serenade… Her name is Slur – sama… You'll be introduced to her one day."

"Alright… And you'll be my CO?"

"Yeah. But you can treat me as a friend. We're trying to create an organization with a friendly atmosphere. Our first rule is this: we never kill and never use real ammunition."

"Good. So what do you do then?" Rock Man asked.

"We use tranquilizer darts: they put people to sleep for a while and they're totally harmless."

"By the way, Netto – kun… One of these days, when the time comes, I'll grant you a program which will allow you to beat those three guys who represent the sources of your problems…"

"And how exactly will you bring "stability" to society?" Netto began to look animated.

"Easy. We're building a super-computer which will filter all information related to crimes which will then be supplied to the police and the government anti-espionage agencies: FBI, CIA, etc."

"Sounds neat… So you've planned everything and you need time for it to become a reality?"

"A lot of time, really. We don't expect to be able to run the computer at 100% capacity until two years from now."

"Two years… But they'll surely fly by. What role will you take on in this "Golden Star" group?"

"I'll be Vice President _Noir_ and use a disguise to hide my face or else someone could put two and two together thus making the whole thing crumble… My disguise will be a black monk's robe together with a heavy hood to hide my face… And since I'll be the VP it's not like you can go and pull the hood saying "that's a joke", right?" He smiled.

"Man. You've thought of everything!"

"Well. We still don't know how many members we'll be or what background they'll have. They'll be around our age or above but there'll be no difference, really. We'll split the members in two Departments: I will control one and the other will be controlled by a gentleman named Kanou Shade: he'll use the code-name President Hades."

"Hades… Sounds creepy enough, alright." Rock Man laughed.

"They should invent a Hades Pokémon." Netto laughed next at his own joke.

"But I'm not forcing you to decide just yet. We've got nine months ahead of us. Plenty of time to keep on meeting and discussing how we're gonna tackle this…" Kuroshiro smiled at him.

"Deal. This is our secret, Oriol. Oriol. It sounds cool. That's a Catalan name as well?" Netto asked.

"Yeah. It's pretty popular there."

"Miquel and Oriol… They make a nice rhyme… And I now see why you go with the family name "Kage"… It'll become a "Shadow" myself and have my own identity hidden in the form of a black horizon with no features whatsoever… Like Sidious hid from Force users…"

"That's the main idea, yeah. My own name, Kuroshiro, means to say that I'm not either bad or good: neutral. Gray. The middle point."

"So, Rock Man – kun… Will you keep the appearances up? Just be as you are… No – one will be able to smell anything out… All the actions you'll do as "Andy" cannot be attributed to Rock Man because it will be clear they're two separate persons which aren't in league with each other…"

"I can't wait for that. But I'll hold back… And I'd rather say you guys should pretend to not to be too strong at Net Battling either so that they underestimate you in purpose." Rock Man sneered.

"Man! So much chatting: a whole hour has passed! I should be getting home soon to finish tomorrow's homework. But let's meet again someday, Oriol…"

"Hmmm… There'll be exams the next two weeks so I'd rather postpone our next meeting to the start of November."

"Excellent. We'll be there. Let's go, Rock Man."

"Did I give you new fuel?" Kuroshiro asked.

"Yeah. Now I know what I can do with my life. See ya."

"Take care: let's meet tomorrow!"

"Good-bye, Netto – kun."

"Take care, Rock Man – kun."

The recording ended there and Netto formed a smile to indicate that he'd liked recalling that moment.

"That was a good moment, yeah. By the way, about Joanne – san…"

"Oh, her… Her aunt contacted me because I did give her my direct number and she apologized for her behavior: she told us she had raised Joanne – san to be a mannered person but she's always been too rebellious. It'd seem Joanne – san is in for some heavy scolding. But we had to draw a line somewhere to prove we're serious about the members' behavior and their actions." Kuroshiro explained.

"Alright. You handle that. But before I go back… Let's have some sex, shall we, Oriol – chan? What roles do we have this week?"

"You're the Master, I'm the Slave."

"Then that's the opposite for us." Saito admitted.

"Let's go fetch your "cyborg body", shall we?"

"Yeah. Have fun, you love-birds." Saito joked at them.

"Good luck with Legato." Netto encouraged.

"Don't worry. He's a kind Master."

Kuroshiro picked the Link PET and opened a cupboard to reveal a "Copy Roid" there: he aimed the Link PET at it.

"Plug In! Legato, Transmission!"

The IR laser hit the emerald in the center of the chest device and the "Copy Roid" glowed to then gain Legato's form: Kuroshiro handed him the Link PET and he saluted before opening the left door and coming out through it shutting it behind him.

"Today we'll do it on the shared shower room." Netto told Kuroshiro with a grin.

"Alright. Do you want me to put on the one-piece bathing suit? It'll fit with the place." Kuroshiro suggested.

"Let's go for it. Today I feel like pulling some tricks."

"It'll be fun."

Netto chuckled under his breath and drew a smug smile…


	43. Chapter 43: Scary speech

**Chapter 43: Scary speech**

12:04 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday August the 8th…

"… All's set."

"Good. Then I cuff you and that's all I have to do when we use the bathing suit…"

Kuroshiro had put on a black-colored one-piece bathing suit which was rather tight while Netto had put on a pair of swimming trunks (the same ones he used on the institute): he picked a pair of handcuffs and cuffed Kuroshiro's wrists from behind.

"Let's go, Oriol."

"Roger."

Netto and he opened the door and came out into a connecting corridor with two different doors opening left and right labeled "BATHROOM" and "SHOWER ROOM" respectively: Netto opened the right door and they stepped into a room with various showers like in a swimming pool changing room.

"Good. Let's heat the room up…"

Netto opened one shower and tested its temperature: he nodded in approval and then both of them stepped under it: Netto quickly began to tease Kuroshiro's nipples which could be seen through the suit given its tightness by rubbing them from the outside: Kuroshiro let out some low-toned moans and Netto then began to rub his cock which was bulging against the fabric of the suit.

"Heh. This feels fun because you're still dressed up and I'm teasing you from the outside… I'll now tease your little rosy ass before I stuff my cock inside of it… You'll see Heaven." Netto joked.

"Sure thing…" Oriol made a weak chuckle.

"And when this is over… Let's tell Zero to ring Enzan and tell him the speech of the "Colonel" at the end of _MGS2: Sons of Liberty_."

"Oho. Terrific."

"Ain't it? Here goes one finger."

"Yikes!"

Netto lifted the portion of the swimming suit covering his ass and inserted his right hand's index finger there: Kuroshiro gasped and Netto began to move it around before inserting the middle finger next: he finished by inserting the ring finger: Kuroshiro was moaning by now.

"Netto – kun! Please… I can't stand this teasing! Please…! Stuff your penis inside of me!" He begged.

"You want it so badly, so…"

Netto lowered the front half of his swimming trunks and drew his already hardened cock: he slid half of it inside of Kuroshiro and waited to further tease him: Kuroshiro moaned and Netto shrugged as he inserted the full length inside of him: Kuroshiro looked ecstatic by now.

"You're a cruel… Master… Netto – kun…"

"Sorry. Today I felt like it. It's not my intention to be cruel but I wanted to see how you would react to so much teasing."

"Fine… Please move it, Netto – kun…"

"Alright. Brace yourself."

Netto began to pump in and out of Kuroshiro's ass while rubbing his nipples: Kuroshiro moaned and Netto spotted how his cock was getting hard again: he began to rub the head with the index finger and his moans turned louder.

_Heh! Oriol's so sensitive… That's why he drives me mad and he's my perfect lover… Deep inside… He likes being the "Slave" because when he's the "Master" he's very soft and careful… Well. No wonder! He's, after all, a spin-off based on Saito – niisan and he would never think of actually harming me! It's the part of "Rock Man" on him which tells him he has to protect me no matter what…_

"Netto – kun! Coming!"

"Alright!"

Kuroshiro released and stained the swimming suit from the inside while Netto closed his eyes and formed a grin as he felt his inner muscles gripping his cock: he felt the rush of his white stuff filling Kuroshiro's ass so he arched his body backwards while feeling the rush of pleasure invading the whole of his body.

"Ne… Netto – kun… It felt… good…!"

"It felt good for me, too. Now get to your knees and do me a nice blowjob to wrap it up." Netto commanded.

"O. K."

Kuroshiro did as told while Netto shut down the shower to let the heat remain in the room: he rubbed his cock to get it hard and then Kuroshiro began to lick on it before taking it inside of his mouth: Netto placed the right hand behind his head and rubbed it across his mass of neatly combed blond hair: he gripped the rear of the head and began to move it forward and backward: he closed his eyes and let instinct guide him.

_Man! He's so good when it comes to blowjobs but I also can do it better by teasing the urethra as well… Guy on guy is cool and has nothing of all those problems guy with gal has… And Meiru can look around for "K. O." all she wants but she'll surely have to admit it was memento of Kage Miquel's parents… Heh, heh, heh! We're geniuses, really! Well. Maybe I'll be honest with her and tell her about this: she's supported me a lot so I guess I should recognize that…_

"… Oriol! Coming!"

He released inside of Kuroshiro's mouth and sighed in relief as he closed his eyes and imagined a totally white landscape with nothing on it: he began to slowly take his cock out of his lover and helped him stand up before connecting with his lips and starting a kiss: they both put passion into it and Netto hugged Kuroshiro to draw him closer to him and feel the touch of his body.

_Heh, heh, heh! He feels so good! Doing it with the bathing-suit gives this a new feeling that making contact with the skin!_

Both broke apart and looked at the string of saliva linking them: they grinned and Netto then unlocked the handcuffs so Kuroshiro calmly rubbed his wrists.

"It feels like a return to old times. Guys used these suits before too before the trunks got popular." Kuroshiro commented.

"Good. Let's dry up and then go to the room: we'll call Zero and then we'll see how they react."

"I'll be exchanging jokes with Superintendent Oda. When I say that "Uncle Moran's favorite nephew" is calling he'll get in the mood. And we could pull some special effects show too." Kuroshiro grinned.

"Terrific."

"But let's call Saito and Legato too. They wouldn't like to miss this for anything."

"Deal."

They came out of the shower room and headed for the door at the end of the corridor: Netto activated and interphone.

"You guys done? We're gonna put up a show in the Net Police's Cyber CID HQ and Enzan is gonna learn how scary Zero can be."

"Count me in!" Saito replied.

"I wouldn't want to miss that. If Enzan is gonna go through chaos and confusion then… So be it!" Legato laughed.

"Good. We'll be setting up the stand in this room so come over when you're done with: if you wanna come in leather suit we don't mind either 'cause we're all guys and we know what we do to each other. But if you wanna dress up instead it's your choice." Kuroshiro added with a smug smile.

"Roger, Oriol – sama." Legato saluted.

"We'll see, Oriol."

"Later."

Both headed back into Kuroshiro's room and they sat down on the chairs around the round table: Kuroshiro turned on his MacBook and inputted some commands: Zero's upper body appeared on-screen.

"Yo. Zero."

"Kuroshiro. What do you need?"

"We'd like of you to show the guys out there how terrifically clever you can be. Make them a little speech we've prepared and try to sound scary and all that." Kuroshiro grinned at him.

"Sounds fun."

"It _is_ fun." Netto confirmed.

"Deal. Give me the necessary data and I'll go for it."

"I sent it to you already."

"Hum. Hmmm… Oho. This speech sounds fitting for me. Deal!" Zero sounded amused.

He vanished off screen at the same time Saito and Legato came in: Legato had his Navi armor on while Saito had a set of thin leather bands around his upper body.

These bands began from a black collar around the neck and then formed a triangle with a vertical column spanning across the middle of it: two bands passing over his shoulders formed mid-way across the length of the triangle's slopes and connected to behind.

Some bands were left in Saitos' forearms and wrists which would obviously be tied together to immobilize them.

He also had a circular band from which another three spread on the base of his cock and encompassing the whole of his balls.

"Do I look horny in this outfit?"

"Man. You sure do." Netto whistled in surprise.

"I was careful not to be too rough." Legato announced.

"I don't doubt it." Netto smiled.

"I see you went for the swimsuit mode... It's fun too." Saito commented as he stretched.

"Oh! Now that I think about it… Put on something: we don't want to puzzle Zero about this." Netto recalled.

"Alright."

Saito headed back while Kuroshiro picked the Link PET and typed a number on it: the connection was established but the screen displayed the message "SOUND ONLY" to warn there was no video.

"Hello there~! You've just called Uncle Merton's favorite nephew! What's up, my fellow?"

"Uncle Moran's favorite nephew's on the line, my fellow."

"By Merton! This is interesting. You heard that, ladies and gentlemen? Uncle Moran's favorite nephew is challenging us!"

There was a set of sighs, grumbles, groans and moans in the background fused with Oda's typical chuckle.

"… Enzan – sama, sir… The auto-phone, sir…"

"Patch them through."

"Roger, sir."

"Ijuuin Enzan, are you receiving this? It's us…"

"I'm not into the mood for pranks, Torolov."

"… In the first place, and to be exacts… We aren't… humans per se. During these 220 years… Several thoughts were born within the gravitational field of the so-called "Diet"… Just like how life was suddenly born in the Earth's seas 4 billion years ago…"

"What?"

"…we sprouted within the Diet and evolved… We aren't material. We are those very "order" and "criteria" which you guys rely upon. No – one can annihilate us. As long as this nation isn't wiped out then we will continue on existing…" The voice continued.

"W-who the hell are you?" Enzan demanded.

"_Aikokushatachi_."

"… "Patriots"…?"

"… Listen. Our project isn't for our benefit. It's for you guys' benefit. At the start of this century the reading of the genome's information was completed… Its results made clear the evolution progress of we humanity over the 4.8 billion years of Earth's life… By including gene management, we managed to digitalize life… However, in the other hand, there was something which wasn't recorded in the genome… Yes… A person's memories and thoughts… Civilization, history… Humanity's history is not engraved in the genome… Should it really be something to be transmitted? Or should it be weeded out, just like the natural world has been doing? Our ancestors transmitted those… By using words, pictures or symbols… Recording those in stone tablets or books… But not ALL of that info was told to later generations… Some of it is chosen, processed and then inherited… Like in the genome… That is humans' history."

"T-this guy isn't kidding." Enzan muttered.

"… However, in the current digital society… Several types of info are daily accumulated… Trivial information is preserved without change… Forever, without deterioration… You don't know who says it, rumors like trash, wrong interpretations, slandering of others… Varied information is unfiltered, preserved, and then told to a later generation… That stops evolution. Ijuuin Enzan: you seem to think that our actions are simple censorship, right?" The voice continued without seemingly ever running out of breath.

"Eh… But…"

"Yes. But of course. What we're doing is not to control content but, rather, to generate context. The world's digitalization promotes human weakness and the speeding up of birthing their "truths" fitting for their circumstances… Have a look at the rising amounts of "truths" within society… Humanely kill persons with expensive weapons … Criminals' rights are treated in a more politely than victims' privacy… Donations are gathered for rare animals' protection while there are persons suffering in poverty… Anyone is raised being told this… Be kind to others… But mince any competency! "You're special"… "If you believe on it your dream will be made real"… But it's clear from the start that only a small portion of humans can really succeed… This is the result of "exercising" your "freedom"… Mere word-play to avoid a conflict and protect both parties from harm… Everyone accumulates their "truths" on the name of crappy-pretty things like "political correctness" and "relative value"… Being afraid of a clash they withdraw into their "community"… While within their lukewarm water… To be appropriately sweet… They discard any "truths"…. Countless "truths" which don't hit and don't engage each other… No – one is invalidated but no – one is right either… Selection can't possibly happen here. The world's saturated by "truth"… That's how the world ends. Slowly. We intend to bring a halt to that, so as to say. Since we have that responsibility as rulers… Like in the genome, by filtering needless information and memories, then the evolution of the species is promoted…"

"By all the… Just what are you gonna do?" Enzan sounded really horrified by now.

"And we do decide what is necessary... Exactly… We pick those truths which are worth it from the pile of dirt you guys produce and then spin its meaning… That's what it means to create context. Are you going to say that _you_ decide what to pass into the next generation?"

"W-well… No… Not really, but I…"

"… Ah. Are those your own words? Or are they something an adult told you? Heh, heh, heh. That represents your own incompetency."

"Oi!" Enzan protested.

"Hmpf… You don't have the qualifications to be granted freedom of choice."

"What crap is that? I myself will…!"

"Not so fast. The "self" you're thinking of, could it be but a mere excuse to protect your hide at very best? Couldn't you just have patched it from those ready-made "truths" which overflow society and that from time to time, they make you think it feel good? Or else… More plausible would be to say that it's something, something borrowed, which you planned to gain and huddle under some authority…"

"What crap is that?" Enzan growled.

Netto and the others (Saito had returned while having put his jeans and the shirt over his body) were having a hard time muffling their giggles while Kuroshiro kept on texting messages to Oda.

"Huh? So that's how you got told it was by some guy? Fine. I'll tell you about it… You're brilliant, Ijuuin Enzan! And you've established that on your own."

"Shit. Got me there…"

"What's wrong? Feeling lost? Why don't you try some "self-searching" instead? But I don't think you'll find anything to begin with. However, that's when, regardless the "self" you yourself built, when something inconvenient happens then you place the blame into something else. "It ain't my fault. It ain't your fault." And then you search for another good-tasting "truth" and that's when you seek "comfort"… The "truth" you'd been using 'till now is easily disposable… Can someone like you choose "truth"? Do you have the qualifications to use this freedom? You're eating away freedom… You're unworthy of freedom. We're not the ones fleeing from the world. You guys are. Normally, the individual is weak but not powerless. In truth, they are a dangerous existence which can wreck the world. And digital tech has granted further power to the individual. That power is too much for you guys."

"You mean Wily and the likes?" Enzan guessed.

"What should be left behind, what should be done and what should be used to do that… In short: all of which you guys gotta do is thought upon by us in your place. We are you guys' protectors… And we _do_ think that we can administer a person's thoughts and actions. Anything can be measured nowadays. And we staged an exercise to prove it… But that's enough talk for one day."

"Who the hell are you?" Enzan demanded.

"One of the "Patriots"…"

"Hold on a minute, you! You've ripped that speech from the "Colonel" character in the PS2 Konami video game _Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty_!" Meijin suddenly ran in while displaying a video over the Link PET's holographic screen.

"Oho. Uncle Moran got smart." Oda grinned.

"Uncle Moran…?"

"Maybe you would prefer to name me _Chat Noir_ instead?" Kuroshiro asked over Oda's PET.

"By all the… You were the speaker?"

"Nope. Chaos was. Our new ace-in-the-hole guy… Right?" Kuroshiro asked aloud.

"Oh yeah. I'm Chaos. And I've marked you. Next time I'll make you question your very existence. By the way, let Meijin talk to you about the S3 Plan… _Selection for Social Sanity_… You'll be chilled to the bone, I daresay." "Chaos" added.

"So true. _A bientôt_!" Kuroshiro exclaimed.

"Oi, wait!"

Kuroshiro cut the channel as Zero reappeared on screen: he produced a sound which could be interpreted as a chuckle and the other four joined him in chuckling under their breaths upon seeing how Enzan had been just chilled to the bone and how his whole system had crumbled away…


	44. Chapter 44: Closing stages

**Chapter 44: Closing stages**

18:28 PM (Japan Time), Thursday August the 9th…

"… So! Which meeting do you wanna replay?"

"Let me think… By December you'd already given me the disguise and I used some days to begin training… Suzuki – san had joined us yet and neither had Joanne – san… By March, though… I seized ya."

"You mean that you seized me and had sex with me because you'd been building up that desire for months… And we had those two members in the organization by then too…"

"But you didn't tell me about the "cyborg body" and your nature as "Umbra" until July before you left for Chicago to stage the back-story… Play that one."

"Alright."

Netto met with Kuroshiro again and this time both were sharing the kind-sized bed while having pulled the sheets up until the nipples: Netto was lying on the right side and had placed his hands behind his head while glancing at Kuroshiro, who was lying at his left and looking on his direction while interacting with the Link PET's holographic screen.

"Here it is… Sunday June the 30th, 2009… The course had ended and I was two days away from leaving… It was the early morning…"

"Yeah. That was a pretty hot day."

"… Alright, Netto – kun. Hard to believe, but… We've already come this far… The start of the summer… And of the prelude before you enter "Golden Star"… As you know, I'll go to Chicago, take residence there for five days and send you postcards each day. Then I'll "rush" to Houston and then go "off the radar"… The back-story will be established and given the current context then it'll be easily believable… No – one will doubt of it no matter how hard they try: it's so possible that they won't give it a second thought… I must say I'm impressed with the results of the gym training and marksmanship training…"

"Heh. When I set my mind to something then… That's something which I'll complete no matter what." Netto grinned.

"So, Saito – kun? Are you glad?"

"Yeah. I've had time to add some tweaks and dynamism to my "Andy" character… This is gonna be fun."

"By the way, Netto – kun… There's something I gotta told you… Something very important… I've been holding it back because I didn't want to scare you or have you form prejudices, but… My roots… The account I gave of them wasn't really true…" Kuroshiro timidly began.

"What? Why'd you change it, then?"

"Well… Where should I start at…? Maybe by showing you this you'll understand one of the reasons…"

Kuroshiro interacted with the Link PET and then displayed a hologram of Umbra atop the desk: Netto gasped and leant closer before frowning and seemingly examining the hologram.

"… I thought it was Rock Man DS, but… The face, eye color and body height are all different… It looks like a variation, though…"

"Who's that?" Saito asked.

"Umbra. Twilight programmed him."

"He's your Navi or was?"

"Well…"

"Wait. Or are _you_ that Navi?" Netto asked.

"Yeah. Correct."

"But you told me the devices to materialize Net Navis weren't completed yet, didn't you?" Netto questioned.

"I skipped one because it's unique… There's only sample in the world and I happen to have it… A result of Twilight's obsessions… He wanted to prove he could create a cyborg…"

"Cyborg! Robot-human hybrid, you mean?" Saito gasped.

"Correct. He named it "cyborg body"… And that's what I'm using. 90% of it is just like a normal human's body but… The brain has been altered to fit a Navi's frame… The consciousness program is then run by the brain after being removed from the frame… Some implants in the CNS help the body understand the brain's signals… And a network of intravenous nanomachines regulates my health…"

"I see… So you felt like you were a real human and that's why you can act and behave just like one…" Netto calmly summed up.

"Correct. Even though I can leave and then body is placed into a sleeping status I haven't done that even once. And I don't plan to. I've exiled myself from the Cyber World… forever. My place is with you, Netto – kun, in the real world. That's where I can protect you." He sighed.

"Alright… But nothing's changed. You're still my friend, Oriol. And nothing will make me back down at this point. I'm in and for real. Aren't we, Saito – niisan?"

"Yeah. We're not chickening having come this far. We'd like to ask one thing before you leave, though."

"Ask."

"Could you recreate that system for _me_?" Saito asked.

"Yeah. I've got the schematics and all the necessary data. But the process takes about a whole month… Is it urgent?"

"Not really. Let's work on it after 2010 kicks in. Since everything won't be ready until over a year from now then… But it'd be good if it could be ready by next year's summer. If we talk it properly with Papa he'll accept it and won't be able to refuse because it's just what he was looking for: a way for me to return to the real world."

"Deal. I'll remember that. I can use the lab facility since it's always locked and no – one comes over there. Once _Purgatory_ is complete enough to be inhabited I can store it there in cold sleep…"

"Excellent."

"Alright. Let's make a toast… For a safer future!"

"Yeah! For a safer future!"

"… And that's all." Kuroshiro announced as he stopped the video playback and left the PET on a desk close by.

"Heh. Really… I still remember how I began by sitting to your side. Then picking your wrists and making you lay face-up on the sofa as I unbuttoned your pants and lowered your boxers… And I suddenly stuffed my cock inside without waiting: Legato was taken aback but Saito – niisan began to hug him and all so… We all went mad that day. But you didn't dare try it out on me until five days later after I'd insisted a lot."

"I know… And on that summer we began to meet in the apartment to spice things up… I requested of you to tie me up and you did it: you immediately liked the idea and we came up with the system of switching each week…"

"Switching topics… The latest estimates place Zero at 100% capacity around the 27th or the 28th."

"Excellent. We're drawing closer with every passing hour."

"How should we handle Enzan, though?"

"Enzan? Heh! Let's bring him here and make him go through a thrilling experience while you unlock his memories in a progressive manner: he'll be pressured from all sides and knowing the fact that we mustn't repeat that accident of the past he'll keep his trap shut. He'll be satisfied with having knowledge of all of the enigmas… I guess the folder he's filling with speculations is titled "The Golden Star Enigma" to begin with. Heh! Did Zero come up with something new?" Netto grinned.

"He did. He's begun to tease him by sending him quotes out of the French TV adaptation of the _Count of Montecristo_… Remember: we picked Edmond Dantes, ED, as our reference given how the protagonist had been through something unfair because of others' greed and envy…"

"…and when he escapes the prison, he finds a secret treasure and establishes himself as the _Count of Montecristo_ while also playing other roles such as a minister and others… His fortune can buy anyone and he slowly plans suitable revenges against the ones who conspired against him… He has no need for a disguise because no – one recognizes him after so much time and they thought him to be dead… He even considers himself a cold and terrible man… And he had no mercy in executing his schemes either…" Netto continued.

"Exactly. The similar points are that you felt like you had to defeat those three Navis because they stood for that which you wanted to erase and forget… And, anyway… Nobody's suffered a tragedy or anything. They can't complain." Kuroshiro shrugged.

"True. Well! Enough with the preludes. This time let's be fair and neat to each other…"

"I'm looking forward to it, Netto – kun."

"Who wouldn't? Heh, heh, heh."

"Come to me…"

Netto quickly hugged Kuroshiro and began a passionate kiss while he pulled the covers over them: their giggles rang out and were soon joined by Kuroshiro's moans.

"You like straight inside, eh? I'll give you plenty of it today!"

"Please… Netto – kun… Fill the void in my heart…"

"I'll fill it to the point that it'll overfill and spill."

"And let's send Enzan one of those phones with an anti-laziness system incorporated: if they don't answer after 10 rings then a robot arm is deployed and hits the snoring guy with the receiver while holding their head up with one finger…" Kuroshiro giggled.

"That's just what he needs: a rough wake-up system!"

"Tee, heh, heh!"

19:37 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Gentlemen! Waterloo and Stalingrad strike at us from the NNW flank and they bring a blizzard along!"

"Oh hell."

Oda stepped into the main break room of the Net Police's Cyber CID HQ building with the hands on his coat's pockets and having a broad smile on his face: Enzan, Obihiro, Meijin and Torolov grumbled at his appearance as if they'd preferred something else altogether.

"Uncle Moran's hated nephew is plotting something!"

"Now you call the guy "hated" nephew?" Enzan asked with obvious exasperation to his voice.

"Yessir! It's the trend, gentlemen!"

"The trend…" Torolov looked skeptical.

"Torolov – kun! Are you hiding a parka under the bunk?"

"And what if? That's not against the rules."

"I thought you were supposed to come out into the cold with only your boxers on." He let out next.

"WHAT? That's a stupid myth someone made up!"

"Bring Myth Man to the court, my fellow."

"There's no such "Myth Man"!"

"There is: Uncle Merton's logic says as much."

"Then that logic is outdated!"

"Nope. It's V2 and it'll soon upgrade to V3."

"By all the… Someone halt this unleashed steam locomotive rampaging through the city." Torolov cursed.

"Welcome to the club." Obihiro sarcastically told him.

"I get the point, yeah." He sighed.

"Do you want to join "Vincent's Men" and go investigate an old lady's apartment where yells of "killer, killer!" ring out from time to time according to the neighbors?"

"… "Vincent's Men"…? What's that?" Enzan skeptically asked.

"Why. Superintendent Vincent's crime-fighting squad."

"I don't know any Superintendent Vincent."

"Yeah. There's never been such a guy… at least in the Net Police's Cyber CID, though…" Meijin added.

"Hah! The old man made the guy up out of thin air!"

"Use the emergency railing!"

"What's the pun on it?"

"Mr. F. would rather use the bar's railing! And thus he'd slide down straight into the bar! But it turned out Mr. M. had decided to place barbed wire on it to avoid his pet-monkey of climbing it up thus ruining Mr. F.'s clothes… He was muttering that since it was clean it wouldn't stain his ropes…" He laughed.

"Let us guess: that's the same comic book series Video Man and the others have been broadcasting in the Golden Star HQ." Blues quickly deduced.

"Yessir. You get a prize, Holmes."

"I ain't Holmes."

"Who knows, Mr. Anderson?"

"Che! I won't fall for such a trap." Blues muttered with a hint of annoyance.

"Then climb such a trap."

"That's… ridiculous. Totally." Torolov groaned.

"It gets worse." Obihiro warned.

"Yeah. It gets worse." Enzan warned next.

"You gotta be kidding me." He cursed aloud.

"We ain't." Both replied.

"Mr. F. seized the monkey by the tail and used it as a blunt object to try to hit Mr. M. while he ran away in his turtle disguise. He then drops the stunned monkey into a corner and Mr. M. says this: "Alright! Hey! Don't move from there! Get it, Filemón?"… "_Filemón_! You named the monkey Filemón!" … "Come on, Boss! What name did you want me to give him? Shakespeare?"… And the monkey thinks… "Gosh! I was at peace there, on Africa, amongst the lions, tigers and panthers…!" Oda began narrating while laughing.

"Someone save us…" Punk cursed.

"And when it comes to transportation… They were given a mini-skateboard which only had one flaw: it had no brakes! They ended up being shot inside of the trash collection truck's compartment! Filemón announced that he had a plan: Mortadelo muttered that if only Filemón knew how much he feared his plans… The plan was for Mortadelo to knock on the door to try to come in and keep the assaulter busy: Filemón would climb until the rooftop and then jump in through the window using a rope… Mortadelo put on his soccer uniform and boots and began to kick on the door… The granny inside of the house used the trumpet to try to ID the sound: she was unsure if it was the clock's tick-tock or if someone was knocking at the door… Mortadelo switched to football disguise to "rap it with the shoulder" just as the granny opened the door: he fell atop the tea-tray and was propelled across the room while finally tearing a hole through the wall: Filemón didn't have better luck either because the granny closed the shutter to cut off the air current so Filemón bounced off it an down into the street too!" Oda excitedly narrated.

The "audience" groaned as if knowing what came next.

"It didn't end there! They decided to go through another way!"

"Elucidate us!" Enzan grumbled.

"Through the apartment below hers: obviously enough! They tied up and gagged the owner before using a laser gun to open a hole on the ceiling and Filemón got showered because Mortadelo had hit the underside of the bathing tube which happened to be filled… They came in and Filemón decided to hide behind a curtain just as the granny came in holding a ton of bricks… One slipped out and hit Filemón, knocking him out. She tried to toss him into the bathing tube because it was cool and he fell into the apartment below through the hole! She rushed to prepare a bottle of cognac which she served in a plastic cup: it melted! She put on the reading glasses and realized it was sulfuric acid for the car's battery! Mortadelo, hiding in the shoe cupboard, came out burnt. Both met again and they then heard the yells of "Killer! Killer!" coming from close by… They rushed in and…!" He purposely trailed off.

"They got beaten by the robber." Obihiro tried to guess.

"Heh, heh! Listen to this: "Killer! Killer!" … "Will you be quiet already, Armando? Ever since you saw the _Gate-woman Murder_ over the TV you've spent day after day yelling that motto!"… Well?"

"No way… The one yelling was a parrot?" Torolov groaned.

"And I'll quote the press headlines! "Savage act inflicted upon a poor parrot! Two brutes rip off all of its feathers while still alive and they make the Superintendent of the "TIA" swallow it whole. They're believed to be around the Great Lakes region and so…!" … So?"

"The animal protection NGOs surely ended up causing uproar when they read that headline." Blues drily muttered.

"Heh, heh! There's no beating Master Ibañez!"

"So?" Enzan asked.

"Oh yes. I almost forgot. That fellow of the other day called me and told me I was a genius." Oda laughed.

"Damn. The last thing we needed!" Enzan cursed.

"Yeah. No wonder he's so cocky today." Torolov grumbled.

"Welcome onboard." Meijin sarcastically told him.

"Got the point, yeah…"

"Next! Mortadelo put a William Tell – like disguise and tried to use a whip to split a cigarette Filemón had in half: but Mr. Super just happened to activate the summoning bell so the scare made Mortadelo hit his nose instead: Filemón came in bandaging it while Mortadelo had an aching eye and the whip had been stuffed up his mouth with part of it coming out of an ear!" Oda didn't show signs of giving up.

The "audience" had had enough so they headed out of the break room and slammed the door on their way shut.

"My. What do you make of it, my fellow?"

"Don't worry, _Danna_… Next time they'll have to admit you're unbeatable and that Uncle Merton is gonna name you his rightful heir." Zero told him over the iPod Oda had on his chest pocket.

"So, you're "Origin", eh? I got the joke. But let's play with them: they're so dry, really… They need to be more dynamic!"

"Totally. We don't want the public to think this place is boring to begin with, do we, _Danna_?" Zero calmly argued back.

"Of course not… Ladies and gentlemen! Superintendent Oda tells you the following: you'll get a sneaker and a half as summer lottery prize! Who is in for the fun?" He asked over an interphone.

A chorus of groans, grumbles, curses, moans and hardly muffled exhales of anger came back as an answer: Oda merely lifted his eyebrows as if being slightly surprised.

"The heat, the heat… We should improve on the AC, really."

"Totally. The heat makes them dry: cool them down by sending them to a picnic in Shadow Moses Island, _Danna_."

Oda chuckled and rubbed his beard while smiling…


	45. Chapter 45: Looming in the horizon

**Chapter 45: Looming in the horizon**

14:44 PM (Japan Time), Saturday August the 25th…

"… We're three days away from their intended 100% activation mark: what's happened insofar? Anything noticeable, Ijuuin?"

"Well, Laika… Apart from the auctions and that "Origin" guy who seems to be a new member who doesn't show up around the HQ then… Nothing spectacular has happened. Joanne got re-admitted after having been severely scolded by her aunt and she seems to have cooled it down: Slur or, rather, the "secretary" also had a severe talk with her so…"

"I see. Well. Maybe you knew we've been left out? Not only us, but all military forces… Only civilian agencies are allowed access to the auctions for access codes to use on those "nodes"…"

"I noticed, yeah. And it's pointless to try to hack their way in because all attacking ISP – granted IP addresses are blacklisted and that means you gotta reprogram the whole network. Some heads have started to roll elsewhere."

Enzan was chatting with Laika over the PET while both of them looked unimpressed at the current situation: Blues and Search Man kept their arms folded and they looked calm.

"By Merton! There's a fly contaminated with a terrible bacteria which will make your back tickle without giving you a break! Bring out the fly-killer ASAP!" A voice rang out.

"Video Man!" Blues cursed.

"That's Video Man?" Search Man wondered.

"Heh, heh, heh. Capacity: close 97%!"

"No wonder." Enzan was unimpressed.

"So! Machete Man's newest victim has written its will?" Video Man asked him next.

"Machete Man? Who's that?"

"Your worst nightmare, Holmes!"

"By all the fucking… I ain't Holmes!"

"Uncle Moran says you are." Video Man laughed.

"That damned _Noir_ fucker…!"

"_Chat Noir_, Ijuuin Enzan, _Chat Noir_…" He warned.

"Whatever!"

"The ever?" He made a pun.

"Not again with that pun!"

"Heh, heh, heh. The never-ending nightmare!"

"Enough! Who's that Machete Man?"

"Your imagination's worst foe, Ijuuin Enzan!"

"By all the… So it doesn't exist and you made the guy up out of the blue to try to scare me?" Enzan cursed aloud.

"Bravo!" Video Man taunted.

"I'm going to slice you up." Blues growled.

"Slice a pizza up to begin with, Watson."

"This guy is stupid or does he want to look like it?" Search Man groaned while being fed up with his behavior.

"Good question, Comrade."

"Flee!" Search Man commanded as he drew his Scope Gun.

"O~h! What am I seeing…? The Dream Virus…!"

"What!"

Both turned around but Video Man snickered and used the chance to sneak away: both Operators and both Navis cursed.

_I'm fed up with this suspense! I'll get to the core of this! My word!_

15:05 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Tee, heh, heh. So! Who'd said that just by having me sit two meters across the room and look at you while you're blindfolded would turn you horny? Eh, Wan?"

"Well…"

"Tee, heh, heh. Amusing, truly."

"Man. I always fail at standing teasing."

"It's good to be honest with yourself, you know!"

Zarashe was sitting in a chair while having been stripped down to his black boxers and had a blindfold on him as well as having his arms placed behind his back and his wrists handcuffed: Bertha was sitting in a chair across the room and looking at him while noticing the bulge of his cock against the boxers' fabric: she looked rather amused while Zarashe was blushing by now.

"Good, good… By the way… Joanne looks like she had a transformation, didn't she? She came back while having lost that rebellious behavior and although she remains cocky she tends to go by the rules… I guess the lesson was effective enough and that her aunt must've punished her pretty badly… But it had to be done, ya know."

"Y-yeah… Bertha – san…."

"By the way! Wouldn't you know? I figured out after a lot of analysis and such that the "secretary" happens to be Slur – sama."

"Wha!" Zarashe gasped.

"Yessir. There's no doubt. It'd seem she wanted to study the members' behavior from the real world so she came up with that disguise: but her accent gave her away."

"Should've noticed earlier…" Zarashe muttered.

"I'm sure Joel has caught on that by now if he's dedicated any time to investigating the topic too."

"No doubt…"

"So! Have you ever had your ass penetrated?"

"W-well… No, not really…" He blushed.

"Tee, heh, heh. So that makes you a virgin?"

"I'm just 15! I'm trying to keep it legal!" He defended himself.

"Ah. So that's why. It's about to rain prosecutors."

"Rain prosecutors… Come on…" Zarashe was unimpressed.

"Tee, heh, heh. Beta X and Sandra went on separate ways to keep on with their hobbies… But I wonder… Miquel has been too sneaky as of late along with VP _Noir_… I'd bet 25Z that they're on that _Purgatory_ place putting the finishing touches to "Zero"… I heard it's supposed to be ready by the 28th and that's three days from now! There's going to be a conference on the 29th next… And all will be explained." She exposed.

"Sure thing… The guy is the type which comes and goes… Almost like he vanished into thin air…" Zarashe admitted.

Bertha suddenly stood up and walked over to him: she used the left hand to lift his chin while she slid the right hand's index finger across his cock's length: Zarashe blushed while Bertha smirked and kept at it: Zarashe began to groan and Bertha began to rub his head: Zarashe's moans began to increase in volume next.

"You're sensitive! Eh, Wan? This is going to be fun."

"P-please… Don't tease me like that… It drives me crazy!"

"Don't worry… You'll soon be asking for more!"

"Oh crap…"

"I'm going to be a little cruel today. I feel like it. Tee, heh, heh."

"Man… I always run into trouble!" Zarashe groaned.

"Tee, heh, heh!"

15:09 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hah! Take that. 600 yards, fog and wind but with the IR goggles on I hit the guy in the neck! Too bad!"

"… Not bad… My turn…"

"Well. Has she learned the lesson this time around?"

"Sure thing… Her aunt is terrific when angered."

Joanne was practicing sniping in the VR room and looked like she was in her usual cocky mood: Felix was a dry as ever while Tom and Lily were chatting while standing in a corner.

"So. Is everything alright, ladies and gentlemen?"

"Hah! Keitai Denwa… So cha came."

"Yeah. I'd been running some covert jobs but that's ended and I wanted to see the mood around here…"

A man had come into the VR room: he had messy brown hair and eyes with brown irises plus some traces of a beard.

His overall height appealed as being close to a meter and eighty tall while his figure gave off an "agile" feeling.

He was dressed in a simple brownish t-shirt, bluish jeans, blackish socks and white sneakers.

His estimated age could be narrowed to his late 20s or early 30s given the shape of his face and such.

"Welcome back, then." Joanne grinned as she cocked the rifle and put the safety on it before jumping into the observation balcony and shaking hands with him.

"Teacher. Been… a while." Felix merely greeted while also placing the safety on his rifle.

"True, Felix. I see that you keep on improving. But that's to be expected given your earlier experience."

"Obviously…" He merely replied.

"So! Cha know somethin' about what Boss and Miquel are up to? They're working with that super-computer thing?"

"I'm not privy to the details but I guess it's the case. I've got to go report to President Hades but I thought I'd drop by on my way there… I'll be on my way there. Enjoy."

"Thanks."

"… Later."

"See ya 'round." Tom shrugged.

"Hit 'em hard." Lily improvised a motto.

"That's my style, yeah. See ya."

The man headed out and Joanne jumped back into the platform to continue the exercise: she watched how Felix managed to hit a guy riding a bike by correctly predicting when to fire calculating where the bike would be at by the time the bike would reach his position: it hit the man on the right shoulder and he soon collapsed, thus making the bike hit a fence and be knocked into the ground while the man fell into the pavement.

"Hit." Felix merely muttered.

"Not bad! But that's an exception: we really don't wanna have a traffic accident happen 'cause we hit the target when they were riding a bike or a car…" Joanne grinned.

"See? Back to her old self…" Lily told Tom.

"Can see that, yeah…" Tom admitted.

"Let's ride the riding wave!" Video Man exclaimed through the PA speakers all of a sudden.

"Let's burn the burning wave!"

"Let's stab the stabbing wave! Shah, shah, sha!"

15:14 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So. If I understand correctly, "Zero" is expected to reach 100% capacity in three days' time and then there'll be a conference about the nature of the project and such?"

"Correct, Tango – san. We'll record all what's said in the conference because we've got the feeling it'll be something important."

"Good. By the way… The Net Police's Cyber CID say Kage and _Noir_ are rather absent as of late… Where are they?"

"We don't know, sir."

Suzuki and Akemi were speaking with their KCK contact while reporting the latest news: Akemi was sitting on a chair next to Suzuki and calmly rubbing her chin with her right hand's thumb and index finger as Suzuki distractedly scribbled something into a paper sheet.

"Could they be on the location named _Purgatory_?"

"We're pretty sure they are." Suzuki confirmed.

"Joanne and Lily came back too."

"Oh! They did?"

"Yes, sir. It'd seem the scolding of Joanne – san's aunt has been more than enough to remind her about the rules and how she's supposed to behave so…" Suzuki explained.

"I see. So it's back to two snipers again… Have there been any more raids or field movements as of late?" "Tango" asked next.

"Not really. Things have been pretty quiet with everyone doing their usual actions or going out to have some variety. President Hades has also been absent some days because he's busy with his other job and apparently must handle a deal which has to be done in person and can't be done remotely." Suzuki continued.

"And the "secretary"… I mean, Slur… Is around? Has she made any special comments or announcements?"

"No. She just pops out to make sure nothing is going on and then vanishes: she seems to be fond of dramatics."

"And given her power…" Akemi trailed off.

"Hum. I see."

"Time for VM, BM and NM's daily show!"

"There they go again." Akemi rolled her eyes.

"Why! You managed to bring a buddy to read your memoirs aloud?"

"Don't laugh, Boss! It's a suspicious guy… I caught him roaming close to the airport!"

"But, come on… Why don't you think he's just a passenger about to ride into a plane?"

"Impossible, Boss! He's got a way too small travel bag… It wouldn't have fitted! So I'm gonna interrogate him."

"Ah! Like in the movies, eh? Do you need the lamp?"

"Nope. It breaks so quickly… I use a caliber 12 hammer!"

"What kind of logic is THAT?" "Tango" was baffled.

"And that of the lamp is silly too." Akemi muttered.

"He's confessed, Boss!"

"Did you have to use the hammer?"

"Nope! I just had to count his teeth!"

"C-count his teeth…?"

"Yes! See, see… When I reached seven he confessed!" Video Man proudly announced.

"You'll regret this! You'll regret it!"

"Note to the audience! Mortadelo began to use a pair of pincers to take out his teeth!"

"Wha~t?" "Tango" uttered in disbelief.

"Hey! Guys! Where are the riding stables?"

"Riding stables? What riding stables?"

"Well! Ain't it obvious? The riding stables to store the herd!"

"But… What herd are you talking about? Are you "drunk" already or WHAT?"

"No! I'm not "drunk"! And I'm not kidding! Mr. Super told me "Go and bring me those donkeys of Mortadelo and FiIlemón" so you gotta tell me where the riding stables are at and… Brutes! Imbeciles! I'll complain to Mr. Super! I want to see you mopping the pavements!"

"Note! M&F rammed a safe into the guy and placed a wood plank to keep him glued between the wall and the safe! And now… This is gonna end right now! I won't tolerate any more insults from that jerk! Mr. Super! Did you name us "donkeys" a while ago?"

"Well, yes… Why? Any objections?"

"Oh no, none at all! Be~h!"

"Note! Mr. Super has a club on his hands which he'd been peeling off with a knife so Mortadelo puts on his sheep disguise and quickly steps away while Mr. Super brandishes the club!"

"By all the…" "Tango" cursed.

"That's the definition of "usual", sir."

"Man. I'm glad not to have to endure those."

"Well! I called for you because I've received an urgent and nerve-racking phone call… It comes from Beetles' Island, where the millionaire Ibañez-Poulos lives at… The gangsters must've gotten to him because the butler says that he's been abducted and that they are demanding lots of rooks and Persians in exchange! By "rooks" they must mean money and by "Persians" some exotic item or another… So! Your mission is to go the island, free him and catch the villains!"

"Ah! That sounds more logical."

"Alright! So after a long and hazardous journey, they get to the island and spot the butler: he doesn't seem to understand what they're talking about so Filemón repeats the message and he says that Mr. Super surely didn't understand him. The millionaire wanted lots of _books_ and _aspirins_ because he's bed-ridden with the flu!"

"No way…" "Tango" groaned.

"The original Spanish read like this: _"Yo le dije que está acostado y pide libros y aspirinas en cantidad!_"… Mr. Super understood "_secuestrado y piden libras esterlinas en cantindad_"… In short: "kidnapped and they want plenty of Sterling Pounds" while the original message is "bed-ridden and wants lots of books and aspirins"…!"

"Someone save us…" "Tango" moaned.

"Another sketch! M&F head for the back entrance of the "TIA" building and shouts the password: "It's almost 7 o'clock in Albacete!"… A pedestrian calls for his attention and begins to explain why the password doesn't make sense: he takes forever and Filemón finally punches him in the right eye while tying him up and gagging him: when he tries to ask for help, another pedestrian says he's not interested into buying rope. The guard opens and then comments that the password should be changed because it doesn't make sense and Filemón discharges a hit from a baton to his head. When they get ordered to "act", Mortadelo disguises as a Shakespearian character while pronouncing the magic words "Hum! I climbed to the palaces, I descended into the huts and in all of them I left behind…!" yet Mr. Super didn't like it."

"He never gets tired of that?" "Tango" exasperatedly asked.

"No, sir. Unfortunately enough, sir."

"He doesn't know when to stop!"

"One more thing: dolphins are gonna act like sea-taxis soon!"

Video Man and his pals laughed while the other three sighed in defeat…


	46. Chapter 46: Thrill ride

**Chapter 46: Thrill ride**

19:39 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday August the 28th…

"… Enzan – sama, the auto-phone, sir…"

"Who's there tonight?"

"The black butterfly."

"What?"

"Kidding. Zero EXE."

"Zero EXE…? Wait! So then "Origin" is a nickname?"

"I thought it was obvious."

Enzan had eaten a bowl of take-away _tempura_ when the PET's auto-phone began to ring: he answered it and Zero happened to be the caller so he immediately focused his attention.

"What do you want now?"

"Tell you that there's gonna be a party…"

"Where?"

"Here. On _Purgatory_…"

"Che. You're provoking me because there's no way I can know where that thing is at." Enzan grumbled.

"Bravo, Lestrade. You deserve an ascent."

"Stop screwing me: what do you want?"

"We'll reach 100% capacity by 20:10 PM."

"Hmpf… So what? We knew that already."

"But you don't know that you're invited to forming part of this small party, did you?" Zero chuckled.

"What! Me? Who decided that? Kage or _Noir_?"

"Both of 'em."

"And how do I get there?"

"They'll come pick you up."

"In their car?"

"Bravo."

"So what is the party about? There'll cakes or something like that? Wait a minute! Hikari will be there?"

"Hikari? Hikari Netto, you mean? Dunno. Never met the guy! So you'll have to ask those two." Zero shrugged.

"I'll do and I won't stop until I pull out that mask or take out that hood _Noir_ wears because I'm sure there's another reason he's hiding his face: he must be wanted by someone and thus to avoid being located there then he does this silly disguising act."

"Excellent. I'd rather say you'd been ascended to Superintendent by now and you're facing Oda in a wits battle. He's a genius, you knew that? A genius with capital G." Zero laughed.

"Oh come on! Don't fuel his ego again." He groaned.

"Nope. I'll give you a photo frame made out of four interconnected and lit TNT cartridges." Zero laughed next.

"You're not gonna tell me you dug that out…"

"…from Mortadelo & Filemón, yeah. Oho. The thirty-six bells of doom just rang out." Zero suddenly muttered.

"What thirty-six bells of doom?"

As a response, an already ignited "Dimensional Converter" formed out of a "warp hole" in the ceiling and Enzan was surrounded by the shaft of white light: he was unable to react as his body vanished along with his Link PET and then the room became empty.

"Welcome to the party, my dear." Zero laughed.

19:58 PM (Japan Time)…

"… All's set! Do you feel fine enough? Miquel – kun."

"Yeah. Don't worry about me. This is thrilling. How is Enzan like? Have you finished setting him up?"

"Sure thing! Say, Legato… He has a good body, right?"

"Yeah. And I can see a little scar under the right nipple: it's got to be Laika's own handiwork to remind him about their deal."

"Undoubtedly…"

"Uh-unh… Huh? What… happened…?"

Enzan began to regain consciousness as he heard voices around him: he couldn't see anything but he could feel in a strange position.

"What in the…"

He began to notice that he was sitting on a metallic thin and cold surface and that he was butt naked: his legs' portions below the knees were aiming backwards and there were some metallic cuffs immobilizing his ankles: the legs were brushing against what felt like wood.

"You gotta be kidding me…"

He then felt how his arms had been placed behind his back and that a bundle of ropes suspended from above him had been tied around his forearms to immobilize him.

"Shit."

The next thing he realized was some rope tightened over his butt naked body: it began around the neck forming a shape similar to the Alphabet letter "V" when seen from the front and the two parallel ropes fused into one knot which gave way to a diamond-shaped pattern repeating twice across his upper body before both ropes travelled down parallel next to his cock and balls thus making a loop and heading upwards while brushing against the sides of his ass: it formed another diamond behind his body and two ropes began at each side of the diamond.

These ropes converged into the frontal diamond thus rubbing the sides of his body: they kept on climbing up across his back until it formed an incomplete diamond below his shoulders: another two ropes formed on the edges and ran around the sides of his body.

"Fuck."

Lastly, the ropes travelled over his shoulders and joined the "V" shape over his upper body.

"And that isn't all…!" He grumbled.

Indeed: he could feel two plastic-made capsule-shaped objects strapped to his nipples with cello-tape plus another one attached slightly beneath his cock's head: his legs' hips contained two rectangular objects strapped to them too from which some wires emerged and travelled up to the objects on his nipples and his cock.

"Ugh! What's this on my ass…? A fucking vibrator…?"

A thick reddish vibrator with spots over its surface had been stuffed up his ass and it felt like it'd been built over the metallic frame to begin with: it kept his ass stuffed.

"S&M…! Huh?"

He suddenly noticed that there was someone else in the same position as him mere millimeters in front of him: their faces were practically rubbing with each other and Enzan could hear their breathing.

"Welcome to the party, my dear." Kuroshiro joked.

"_Noir_…! Huh? Wait! No! You're named Kuroshiro Oriol! Huh? Why didn't I remember this?"

"No surprise! We placed a little chip implant in you to repress your memories and win time to finish calibrating Zero to reach 100% capacity which we're gonna do in about… 2 minutes 37 seconds."

"Guess who I am, Enzan." The guy in front of him challenge.

"Hikari?"

"Yeah! Me. Don't you feel honored to share the wooden horse with me of all guys?" He laughed.

"I can't believe you're riding into this out of your own will."

"I am. I can be a good masochist when needed."

"Who's there?"

"Oriol, Legato and Saito – niisan… Blues is sleeping in your PET 'cause we don't want to scare him out." Netto chuckled.

"And speaking of which… I'm gonna fill up the space you've got empty there, Enzan, 'cause I wanna check you out." Saito announced from behind him.

"Oriol will fill me up and Legato will be the audience for tonight's private and top-secret party." Netto added.

"True." Kuroshiro confirmed.

"Is there no way around this?"

"Why? Didn't you want to fuck me back in January? Well! This is better than your method. It's a thrill ride. And I did know what you meant back then but I had to play dumb on purpose to stay in character. After I got "shot" you had to give it up because there was no way you'd force me with the arm in such a state…" Netto smugly told him.

"W-well… That's…"

"1 minute 06 seconds… I've prepared the champagne. We'll have a toast and then we'll spend the next two hours having fun. Netto – kun told his parents he was gonna stay with me and they didn't object to that so we've got no time constrains either." Kuroshiro announced.

"Damn it. You've thought of everything."

"Obviously, Enzan." Legato taunted.

"Shut up you punk imitator."

"Sorry, but Punk is the _punk_." He made a pun.

"29 seconds… I'll get the champagne and the cups. Ah! Enzan. Those things in your penis and nipples are mini-vibrators which will make you feel like never before. 17 seconds…"

"Feel the ushering into a new age, Enzan. From now on there's no turning back: the auctions have been completed. We're all into it by now. And even Papa approves of our actions…"

"5…4…3…2…1…0!"

PLOP!

"A new age has begun! The Stability Age has begun! And that's thanks to all of our combined efforts… Let's make a toast on Serenade's name: he'd appreciated the gesture, wouldn't you think?"

"Cheers." Netto giggled.

"Che."

There was the sound of cups making contact with each other and Enzan then felt how one was placed right in front of him: Kuroshiro opened his mouth and let him drink the champagne while Netto was apparently doing the same.

"True importation French champagne… It cost a small fortune but for once in life… Meh!" Kuroshiro shrugged.

"Legato. Start with Enzan and then go for Netto – kun."

"Roger, Saito – kun… Get ready, Enzan."

"Shit."

Legato walked over to him and quickly turned on the three vibrators to max speed while he also made the wooden horse's own vibrator start up and spin inside of Enzan's ass: he began to moan and convulse and he could hear how Netto was doing the same close by.

"Alright! Time for an entrance…"

"Stop! Don't come any closer!"

"Too bad. I've always wanted to do this."

"Huh! Yeah! Get in hard, Oriol! Fuck me hard!"

"Alright."

"I'm going in, Enzan… Heh, heh, heh!"

Enzan gasped as he felt what obviously was Saito's cock pumping in and out of his ass: he moaned but then Netto suddenly captured his lips in a passionate kiss and Enzan was taken in: he felt clouded and absent-minded so he let instinct take over: he replied to the kiss and began to play around while he felt his cock getting hard.

"We'll see who can release faster!" Kuroshiro challenged.

"Heh, heh, heh. This is good! Your ass likes my penis! I guess Laika's one is bigger even." Saito chuckled aloud.

Netto broke the kiss with him to regain his breath and Enzan panted as he tried to focus: he suddenly gasped as he felt some hot stains land around his body from close by.

"Does my stuff feel hot, Enzan? I can see you're about to shoot some out so I'll have a taste. Heh, heh, heh."

Enzan moaned and released: some of his stains apparently fell inside of Netto's mouth because he connected with him and began to share the new flavor with him: he hardly noticed how Saito released inside of his ass and sighed in relief: Kuroshiro's sigh rang out next.

"Man. Saito beat me to it." He muttered.

"Too bad, Mr. Anderson." Saito laughed.

"Heh, heh, heh. This scene is driving me mad… I'll grant you some of my stuff too, Enzan. But firstly let's check out your ass now that Saito – kun has opened it up." Legato chuckled.

Enzan gasped as Legato's notably bigger cock got stuffed inside of him: he began to moan while he broke the kiss with Netto yet he realized there was a string of saliva and white stuff linking them.

"Oh, Saito – niisan…! Your cock feels good!"

"Heh, heh. We're some bad twin brothers, eh? We're doing incest and none of us regrets it." Saito joked.

"Who cares about that? Incest between guys is fun!"

"I'll be sitting and drilling myself here…"

"… Hello? Guys? What's up? The camera's off…"

"Oh, Zero. So? Who are the first customers tonight?"

"The CIA."

"The CIA, eh? They always want to be the first." Kuroshiro laughed and sounded like he'd been expecting it.

"Sounds like it. They've begun to look at some data regarding one of those crazed college guys who wants to cause a killing spree and then shoot his brains… Guess they're gonna arrest him before he can materialize that madness. We don't want another Columbine."

"True. Well! From now on we'll just have a peek look at some of the data they gather… If you think we could handle something faster than one of the clients then tell me and we'll discuss it." Kuroshiro turned serious and firm.

"Good. By the way… What are those sounds?"

"Oh. Don't mind them. We're testing some new equipment and Legato feels like kidding around. Right, Legato?"

"Sure."

"Alright, then. I'm off." Zero replied.

"Good. See ya later."

"That was Zero. He's a nice guy. But we didn't want him to see this scene because he'd hardly understand it… See, Zero formed on his own inside of the super-computer and so we've appointed him the sole admin of the babe… He's glad with his post."

"F-formed on… his own…!" Enzan moaned.

"Yeah… Just like the "Darkloids", the "Cybeasts" and the "Four Dark Heavenly Kings"…" Legato confirmed.

"Man! I released. It felt good, though." Saito laughed.

"Wow. You're fast, my Saito – kun."

"Thanks, Legato."

"Saito – niisan is like an express bullet train!"

"Not bad." Kuroshiro laughed.

"Heh! I'm gonna fill you up, Enzan. My. If only Laika knew… But he'll never know and you won't dare to tell him. Besides, you gotta realize that Hikari joined the business because it was what he needed to keep on with life and regain what he'd lost…" Legato warned.

"So be a nice companion and don't sell him out unlike what Bubble Man did in the past. We've delivered some scolding to the guy and I wouldn't be surprised if he's fled to the Patagonia, even." Saito added while barely holding back a wish to explode into anger.

"Please calm down, Saito – niisan. That past is dead. We killed it. We buried it!" Netto reminded him.

"True, true… Alright. Let's try out the anal beads."

"A-anal beads!" Enzan gasped.

"You'll _love_ them." Kuroshiro sneered.

Enzan heard someone walking towards him and gasped when he felt how the beads began to be inserted inside of him: whoever was doing that stopped mid-way and stepped back.

"Your spasms caused by the vibrator will do the rest. You'll be sucking them in on your own, Enzan." Legato chuckled.

"Don't complain, Enzan. I'm also starting to suck them in too and I feel like never before!" Netto laughed.

"Wouldn't you know? We take turns each a week switching our roles of "Slave" and "Master"…" Kuroshiro let out.

"So we can switch between being a masochist or a sadist easily enough and that's why this is nothing for me."

Enzan struggled but was unable to move and all attempts to rise were impaired by the ankle cuffs and his body's vibrations: his legs began to tire out and he kept on falling back on the metallic band given how the vibrator had been lubricated with something slippery.

"N-no more… They're… all the way inside…!" He moaned.

"Fine."

Kuroshiro suddenly pulled them out and Enzan arched as he released and stained his body and face: Netto suddenly licked all over his face and apparently took the stuff inside of his mouth as he also released and stained his own body.

"Alright. Let's wrap up… I go inside of Enzan and you go inside of Netto – kun, Legato. Saito: do you authorize?"

"Sure. Check him out, Legato."

"Roger."

Kuroshiro began to pump his ass and rub his cock's head at the same time thus making Enzan groan but his yells were muffled when Netto began a new kiss with him: Enzan let instinct take over again and he began to enjoy the distinct flavor of this kiss: he broke away and panted while he heard Netto pant too.

"G-good… Heh, heh, heh… This was so fun… Say good evening, Enzan, and check out tomorrow's afternoon conference." Netto chuckled.

"Yup! Bye-bye, Enzan."

"W-wait…! Stop…!" Enzan protested.

He felt the dart hitting his neck and he began to drift into sleep: all became black and he felt nothing more…


	47. Chapter 47: Conference

**Chapter 47: Conference**

13:03 PM (Japan Time), Thursday August the 29th…

"… Alright! We're all here? Kage – kun, Zarashe – kun, Felix – kun, Joel – kun for the gentlemen… Joanne – san, Suzuki – san, Bertha – san for the ladies… Mr. Keitai Denwa… President Hades and I… All of the Navi staff including our guest… Ms. Secretary… Excellent. Good! Mr. President, if you may…"

"Delighted…"

All of the Golden Star staff had gathered in the lobby which had become an improvised conference room: a small wooden podium had been set and portable foldable plastic chairs brought in so that every human member and their Navis could sit (_Noir_ and Hades were standing atop the podium) while a holographic screen was hovering in the air behind the podium and currently displayed the Golden Star logo.

"Alright. First of all, we'll introduce our special guest. Please meet our new member: Zero EXE."

"Zero EXE?" A chorus of voices asked.

"Yo." Zero greeted as he showed up onscreen.

"Cool!" Zarashe whistled in admiration.

"Cocky." Joanne grinned.

"… Mechanical…" Felix merely muttered.

"Zero EXE…!" Suzuki immediately spotted the connection.

"Heh." Kage just grinned.

"Hum! By Moran. This _is_ interesting." Agoras smiled.

"As you may have noticed, his name does indicate his role: the administrator of the super-computer Zero which is built inside of _Purgatory_ and is intended to be one of the most important super-computers… You've heard of the auctions and such by now."

"Next item: the true nature of _Purgatory_."

A satellite-taken photo displayed an overhead view of _Purgatory_ proving it to be several hundred meters long and having a submarine-like profile when seen from above including a central turret: whistles of surprise rang out across the room.

"THAT's _Purgatory_? It's - HUGE!" Beta X exclaimed.

"Whoa." Victor was awed.

"What a behemoth!" Lily gasped.

"Heh! Interesting, ain't it?" Tom grinned.

"Hmpf…" Andy made a smug smile.

"My, my. Talk about "size does matter"..." Sandra joked.

"A hybrid of a warship and a submarine…!" Akemi spotted.

"And there's another piece of news: _Purgatory_ isn't just the shell shielding "Zero" from physical interference but… It'll become our new permanent HQ! We did say we'd move to another place: here you have it! All rooms are already furnished and you'll have your own private access code so you can control access to them. They're sound-proof too." Hades added the last sentence with a hint of amusement.

Suzuki merely lifted an eyebrow: she'd obviously realized that the message was intended for her but she didn't display it: Hades didn't look at anyone in particular either.

"The moving will be carried out along tomorrow: _Purgatory_ is docked in the harbor taking advantage that this area isn't used by commercial ships anymore… A building where motor boats are stored at when not attached to _Purgatory_ has been commissioned too… Its security is top-class but even if someone could pick a boat they wouldn't know _Purgatory_'s coordinates because they're relayed over a biometric ID system. Extortion and such are of no use too because the biometric data would vary from the accepted values and be refused. The ship will move at a slow manner around the harbor but won't come out of it either."

"Wow! I can't wait to get there."

"Additionally… A watch of Navis will be established on the deck upon slotted time-frames… Even if an intruder could get past those they'd find they need passwords to access each room… And even if they skipped them and tried to head for Zero, we've prepared a huge lock gate of a thickness which not even plastic explosive can damage… The gate can only be opened from the inside by Zero EXE himself or by one of us two using a biometric ID… And even if they got inside the corridor, "Dimensional Area Walls" will be deployed every 50 meters to block progress: it's impossible to detour them or skip them and even Cross Fusion users would be unable to break them." Hades detailed.

"Whoa. What heavy security." Keitai Denwa whistled.

"Is it not obvious? Zero must be protected from the greedy fools and the foolish people who would try to use it for their own goals: censorship, counter-espionage, terrorism, sabotage…" The "secretary" told Keitai Denwa.

"Of course, ma'am. I hadn't thought of it." He made a courteous reverence.

"Ah. Then I do not mind. I tend to be picky at small things."

"Say… May I ask something?" Suzuki requested.

"Go ahead."

"Thank you, sir. Some months ago… I came out one evening and saw a blackish behemoth's figure for an instant close to the harbor… But when I tried to look at the waters with IR goggles there was no trace of it or of anything having been there… Was that _Purgatory_?"

"Correct. It'd just come out of dry dock and it was testing its maneuver capacity… Its camouflage system also allows it to hide from IR scanning systems…" Hades admitted.

"Ah! I see. Thank you."

"Any other questions?"

"Can that thing shoot?" Joanne asked.

"No. It has no weaponry. It's intended to be a fortress, after all. But any boarding party will be clearly overwhelmed with our Net Navis and Cross Fusion users providing the defense… We'd try to show them how they don't stand a chance and just wait for them to pull back… But we'd obviously find out where they go or where they came from to report it to the proper authorities…"

"Okay. No problem, then…" She shrugged.

"Is there a… VR room?" Felix asked.

"Of course. We've designed it for these kinds of exercises: there's also a shooting range with simulated shooting in case you want to polish your marksmanship." Hades confirmed.

"Interesting, by Moran." Agoras smiled.

"Isn't it, ladies and gentlemen?" Hades smiled at them.

"I know it sound silly, but… Next we'll have an underground facility named _Hell_?" Zarashe asked.

"No, there's no need to. My own code-name means Hell too."

"Ah! S-sorry. I take it back."

"Tee, heh, heh." Bertha giggled.

"You wouldn't be happening to be thinking of doing something sneaky, would you, Bertha – chan?" Sandra questioned.

"Who knows, Aunt Moran?"

"I give up."

"Oh yes! Mr. Dark Man has offered himself volunteer to run the onboard kitchen and cafeteria… You'll all be given a salary and you're free to pick if you want to have the meal onboard or go have it at the mainland: there'll be total freedom of movement at any time and any day. Everyone can come and leave as they please."

"Yet… We should try to be discreet: we don't want to start boasting in the midst of the streets about this, either." _Noir_ warned.

"Of course not." Kage affirmed.

"Heh, heh, heh. Today I feel like running the show! Let's go for it!"

"Go on ahead: we've finished by now." Hades invited.

"Attention, you guys… I've got two important missions which must be taken care of… One of them brings along no danger whatsoever… It's comfortable, really relaxing… The other mission is terribly dangerous and full of risks! Which one do you prefer?"

"I prefer the second one! And you, Boss?"

"Me too, me too!"

"That's what I expect from my agents! They're courageous, they're brave, and they're seasoned fighters…!"

"Yeah… The first one is way too fat."

"And the second one has some moustache…"

"This Choina girl with the bikini is cute!"

"The fifth one isn't that bad either! Right?"

"I'm talking to you two! TO YOU TWO~!"

"Ah! Say that before…! Gl, gl, gl, gl…!"

"Say, say, we're listening!"

"Let's see~… What would you do when faced with a vile creature, a being capable of committing horrible atrocities…?"

"I'd bring them to the _paredón_! Note: I'd call the firing squad on them!"

"That's it! We gotta be drastic!"

"But, Boss… The "Paredón" is a restaurant specialized in garlic soups! Why don't you bring her to the "Happy Spider-Crab" instead?"

"Hum, not sure… Maybe I'll bring them to the "Chipiron Despatarrao" 'cause it's cheaper and they invited you to a cup of cognac… Note: a rough translation would be: "The Messed Up Lobster"…"

"What a beautiful lady! Heh, heh! Allow me! Allow me to frame the photograph! BOOM! Hum! I don't think they'll let you inside of the "Spider-Crab" or the "Lobster" either because you gotta bring a shirt to begin with! Note: he swapped the photo for a frame built of four TNT cartridges. But in exchange, you're going to fully step within this new mission! Do you prefer to do it out of your own will or…?"

"The phone! I prefer to do it through the phone!"

"T-through the phone~?"

"You're such a nit-witted guy, Boss! Go wait for her to come out of her work and invite her!"

"No! I'm telling you I'll do it through the phone!"

"Grrr! Take phone~! Take this! TAKE THIS! And now… Pay attention to your upcoming mission! I take it you've heard of the UFOs, spaceships or flying saucers… Well then! This time we gotta deal with the… _Flying Tea-cups_!"

"The _Flying Tea-cups_! Mwah, hah, hah!" Everyone (save for the "secretary" and Pharaoh Man and Felix) broke into laughter.

"And thus began a terrific mission of trying to restore to normal those bitten by the alien worms hidden inside of the "Flying Tea-cups" deep within the coffee!" Video Man announced.

"Man! I should find that comic and read it!" Zarashe laughed.

"Don't fret! We've uploaded it into the download server for everyone to enjoy!" Burner Man announced.

"Shah, shah, sha~h! Bring it on, big alien worm!"

"You asked for it! Behold my terrible bite!"

The general laughter continued…

13:45 PM (Japan Time)…

"… I see. So that's how it is."

"Yes, Superintendent Oda… They were repressing my memories so that I wouldn't spoil the surprise of what _Purgatory_ was…"

"Eh… I guess I'm guilty of something, then…"

"Why, Obihiro – kun?"

"W-well… After nagging a lot, I managed to get Netto – kun to get me involved in the super-computer's debugging stages and such I've known of that Zero guy for a while now… Please… I was bored and I wanted something which was up to my level…"

"Alright. You can't be blamed. After all, I'm still studying the "Copy-Roids" and their "Dimensional Converter" technology because they fascinate me with their complexity…"

"Who wouldn't want to have a way of having a peek at some new revolutionary technology?"

Oda, Enzan, Obihiro, Yuuichirou and Meijin had gathered in the meeting room within the Science Labs' building and were discussing about the news regarding Golden Star.

"By the way, Obihiro – kun and Ijuuin – kun… Could you drop by my office later? I want to show you something."

"Roger, sir."

"Understood, sir."

"Enzan – sama: mail from Suzuki and Akemi, sir…"

"What do they say?"

"The conference exposed all of the security measures regarding access to _Purgatory_ and within its structure… She's made a summary using bullet points. Have a look, sir."

"Whoa. This is some security."

"No wonder."

Enzan activated the holographic screen and set it to rotate upon its axis so that everyone could read the list.

"There's an extra note: apparently Video Man and the others began another comic book and there was a general round of laughing at the title… _The Flying Tea-cups_."

"_The Flying Tea-cups_?"

Oda broke out into hysterical laughter and began to bang the table while trying to calm down: the other four looked at him with obviously surprised faces.

"By my Uncle Merton's beard! That's the funniest title I've heard: that Ibañez man is a - GENIUS!" He laughed.

"Not again." Obihiro groaned.

Enzan said nothing and was seemingly thinking about something: he sighed and rubbed his eyes.

_Man. They knocked me out afterwards and when I woke up I was on the bed… My memories had flowed back during the unconsciousness and I realized that they were right: Hikari needed to become Kage Miquel in order to regain his energy which he'd lost after that tragic incident two years ago…_

"… Mwah, hah, hah! Ijuuin Enzan! I'm striking at you from the _Dream World_! Tremble in fear!"

"Not Video Man again!" Blues cursed.

"The Dream World…? Isn't that the new feature to be incorporated into the upcoming _Pocket Monsters Black & White_ which are gonna come out in Wednesday September the 18th?" Obihiro wondered.

"What! Oh man! Someone got ahead of me! Well then! I'm striking at you from your imagination, Lestrade!"

"I AIN'T LESTRADE DAMN IT ALL!"

"Nope! You're Uncle Merton's idolized grandson."

"Oho. How true." Oda chuckled.

"Damn it."

"Damn It Man came!"

"Why do you always pick on me?" Enzan questioned.

"You're my worthy foe!"

"How lovely."

"How honorable, you mean!"

"Go buy grease for the video playback device!" Blues growled at Video Man as he looked for him inside of the Cyber World.

"You can't find me! I'm everywhere!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Wanna burn, man?"

"Shah, shah, shah! Wanna needle, fella?"

Burner Man and Needle Man suddenly surrounded him and dashed towards Blues: he was unable to react in time but both passed through him and they turned out to be holograms: Blues growled and began to cut around the empty air until he hit something which happened to be a "Nidoking" which got a twitch over its right eye and suddenly stomped on the floor.

"Here comes the "Earthquake" attack!" Video Man announced.

"Damn it." Blues growled.

"There's more! Strength!"

"Nidoking" suddenly rammed into Blues and lifted him before spinning him in the air and sent him flying across the space to crash with Punk who apparently was coming to help him: they met the floor and then began to jump around when "Nidokin" began another "Earthquake" attack shaking the floor and producing tremors.

"How's that?" Video Man taunted.

"Fuck."

"Damn."

"Mwah, hah, hah! Let's go, my fellows! We've got the honor of being the first watch onboard the maiden vessel _Purgatory_!"

"Heh! Take that, guys! We rock and you pebble!"

"Shah, shah, shah! Patent that, man!"

"Grfjtx!" Blues grumbled.

"The jerks!" Punk cursed.

"How lovely." Meijin sighed.

"Oh by the way! I'll say one thing: this Harley – Davidson miniature will bring us good fortune for the next 666 days!"

"Don't be so Occidental!" Obihiro groaned.

"Maybe I'm a hybrid."

"Please…" Yuuichirou obviously thought it was pathetic.

"I'm fed up with this so I'm going for a walk." Enzan fumed as he stood up from his seat.

"Drop by my office firstly. Come as well, Obihiro – kun."

"Yes, sir. Later, Superintendent."

"Later the Relate!" He improvised a pun.

"I'm off to or I'm gonna go crazy." Meijin cursed.

The group left and only Oda remained in the room: he stood up and looked out of the room's window into the street while barely holding his laughter back.

"My fellows! This is coming to a close but… Who knows? Maybe we'll get some crazy guys as rivals next! Heh, heh, heh!"


	48. Chapter 48: Trustee

**Chapter 48: Trustee**

16:16 PM (Japan Time), Thursday August the 29th…

"… So! There you are."

"Hmmm? My. Sakurai – san…"

"You look different."

"We've won."

"Won? How? Beating the Net Police?"

"Not really. It's not that simple."

"Let's go over to those benches: there's talk to do."

"Well! If you say so, Andy…"

Kage and Andy had been standing in their favorite spot of the harbor when Meiru appeared into the sector: Kage turned around and smiled at her so she began to try to guess: Kage sighed and Andy then signaled a row of three benches installed nearby: they sat down there and Kage seemed to be thinking of how to begin.

"See… Our victory consists on the following: our super-computer "Zero" has reached 100% functionality capacity and now it can intercept any data related to crimes… And this data can be analyzed at a very fast speed to then be sent to the police and authorities… In this manner they can react ahead of time if there's the chance to or if we predict they won't make it on time we could get there and do it too…"

"Ah! So that's what you meant."

"Yeah. But there's something else… I'm not the same person whom you knew back when last year… And I don't mean I've changed my personality or behavior. No. I'm someone else."

"Huh? I'm not sure if I follow."

"It's not that complicated, really. Kage Miquel is my alter ego. But I'm someone you know very well."

"Alter ego…? It couldn't be!" She gasped.

"Impossible…!" Roll uttered.

"No. Not impossible."

"But please don't say the name aloud… Just in case."

"… Netto. Is that you?" She asked in a whisper.

"Yeah."

"And last year…?"

"A friend of mine did the role… His face became mine… It had to be done, Meiru. I needed something to regain the enthusiasm and energy I had before that incident… I lied to you guys back then. I said I'd had an accident but that wasn't true. Five idiots who took profit of a few imbeciles' paranoid fears used that as an excuse to beat me but luckily Superintendent Oda rescued me… After I'd recovered in the hospital I pressed the doctor to honestly answer me one question: could I have died back there? He admitted it."

"What!" Meiru was horrified by now.

"Dying as a feared man, a rejected man… A man who saved everyone and never asked for fame, money, medals or promotions in reward… Yet the imbeciles who wouldn't try to understand why we had such high power and how we used it only saw a freak on us… But Superintendent Oda always defended me… He had enough experience to easily bring up a whole list of counter-arguments to those baseless fears. People can be very egoistical when they want to. They'll reject change and alteration and see anything different as dangerous to their stupid lifestyle. They'll try to get rid of it or suppress it because the very existence of something different makes them be afraid… A baseless fear: a fear based on stupid egoistical and improvised arguments… The imbeciles don't have enough intelligence to realize that if there's still a planet Earth and humanity is still alive is because of me and my friends…" He exposed.

"No way…! That's what happened?"

"Yeah. And I was fed up with life. But Rock Man talked me out of trying suicide: it'd be an insult to Papa's efforts to bridge the gap between both worlds so that Rock Man could be with me. But then… Kuroshiro Oriol or rather Kage Miquel…appeared. And one month later, we began our secret meetings… His offer was just what I needed… I could beat those ghosts of the past haunting me but I couldn't be blamed for it because all blame would go to a guy who'd be totally distanced from me… And who was over-imaging things…" He whispered next.

"I see…! And that tale of the uncle and such…?"

"A necessary back-story… It worked taking into account the current political climate over there. A good tale to explain my "disappearance" and why I would be a different guy… Why I would've been recruited by Golden Star…"

"Then you did some pretty good acting: I didn't doubt anything for a single second."

"That's because I sometimes felt that anger of me at what had happened rising again… I had to discharge it but to not step out of the character I blamed it on that non-existent "uncle"…"

"Netto… So you've been fighting crime all year long while still managing to achieve high scores in all subjects…?"

"Yeah. I obviously wouldn't leave my studies behind. Besides, I had the tale of an "online course" which was enough to justify why I wouldn't show up during most of the mornings too."

"So… You've achieved your goal, but… It isn't over, right?"

"Of course not. It's impossible to wipe out crime. No. We just keep them a minimum level where they can be cornered and caught if they try to stick the neck out of the rabbit's hole…"

"I can understand that he disguised, but… How did you manage to pass off as another Navi?" Roll asked "Andy" in a hushed tone.

"Oh. That. Well. I actually become a different Navi."

"What?"

"I've got a very powerful program built on my core which alters by internal data structure and only leaves the core data untouched. I can activate it whenever I want to and the whole process only takes 10 seconds. The friend who pretended to be me, though, used a holographic disguise over his usual form…" He whispered back.

"So that's how it was… Say… As Andy – kun… Have you found any love interests?" She grinned.

"Well…" He trailed off.

"Ah! Not to be spoken aloud?"

"Yeah. You know."

"I won't complain. You're free to pick your path. I never believed in _clichés_ anyway." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Thanks."

"So? Is there some onboard romance?"

"Not really… One of the Operators, B – san, toys with a guy named Z. They have a two-way deal…" He whispered.

"So they're not crazy about pairings either… Ah! Speaking of which: what became of that girl who insulted Meiru – chan?"

"J – san? She got readmitted but she looked like her aunt had given her a huge scolding which she doesn't want to experience twice. She's behaving normally by now." He admitted.

"Alright. If her aunt scolded her seriously then I guess that same thing won't come to happen twice."

"She also doesn't want to face Ms. Secretary's anger either. She can be terrible too when angered."

"That's what we need: strong discipline and make it clear where the border must be drawn at!"

"Totally." "Andy" agreed with her.

"…now claiming he's the National Japanese Middle School Champion and other vain claims… That guy needs to be hit in the head with a hammer to straighten him out!" Meiru was telling "Kage" in the meanwhile.

"Sure thing… He won't learn his place. I'm sure his parents had him devout extra hours to studying and had to get strict with him so that he could complete this year with some decent grades…"

"Anyway… What kind of crime do you usually fight?"

"Well… Depends… Last time there was a raid it was on an illegal club in which young guys were brought to be abused of… We stormed them before their "opening time" and rounded all of them up. The police freed the hostages in another building too and then came to pick the idiots running the business up…" "Kage" described.

"Good! We need to root out those guys."

"Yeah. Abusing of minors can't be consented. At all."

"Other times we've caught guys smuggling drugs or organizing illegal rooster fights…"

"Rooster fights! That's cruel to the roosters!"

"Of course. That's why we shut their business down too."

"But you obviously can't hope to get all of them, right?" Meiru brought up an argument.

"No. Because new ones will eventually pop out… As long as there men and women interested in that then… But at least the culprits are black-listed and any attempts to hide under another name can be detected because they will be using the same access IP addresses which can be traced: no commercial coding can compete against Zero's sheer decoding power to begin with." "Kage" grinned.

"Heh. And they'll be caught red-handed."

"Obviously."

"Yo~! Kage & company! The Comic Trio have come~!"

"You guys? I thought you were onboard _Purgatory_."

"Our watch ended already. So we're rehearsing for the next history: the Security Provost! Head of the SAPO or Party of Mean Popular Workers! The initials mean "TOAD" in Spanish." Video Man laughed.

"And the main party in the opposition is the RANA or Incredible Apocalyptic Nuclear Roar! Otherwise known as "FROG" for its literal spelling!" Burner Man added.

"Shah, shah, shah! And they stole his trousers while in the midst of the 37th Annual Party Congress! And then his bodyguards went to report that their service guns had been stolen while they were enjoying some ham _tacos_ and wine glasses in the bar…" Needle Man laughed.

"What!" Meiru looked taken aback.

"Oho. New audience, eh? Miss! Do listen to our humble radio adaptation of this magnificent comic book!" Video Man announced.

"Sit back and listen to them: they're pros." "Kage" grinned.

"This can't keep like this! I've gotta get rid of this criminal herd infesting the nation and when the next elections come… I'LL BE THE PRESIDENT IN THE PRESIDENT'S PLACE!" Burner Man began.

"Well. If he's a politician…" Meiru wasn't surprised.

"Hello? Is that the "TIA"? Connect me to Mr. Super immediately! And by the way, someone just stole his shirt's necktie from behind!"

"No way…" Roll looked skeptical.

"Yes, Mr. Provost… I understand, Mr. Provost. I'll immediately get to work on this topic, Mr. Provost! My respects, Mr. Provost! MORTADELO! FILEMÓN! Note! Mr. Super was laughing at Mr. Provost while replying and the reason will soon become clear."

"Command us, Mr. Super! I was testing this sales necktie disguise and so…"

"Sales necktie disguise?" Roll sounded skeptical.

"There's nothing Mortadelo can't disguise as!"

"Huh! Mortadelo, son… Will you make a favor and wide open your left eye?"

"But of course, Mr. Super! Like this…?"

"That's it… LIKE THIS! PTAF!"

"Jeez! This guy…! Maybe he preferred me testing out my sales boxers' disguise then! Note! Mr. Super got scared at seeing how Mortadelo had become his necktie and such punished him by hitting his right eye before storming off the room! Ahem, ahem! Hey! And Filemón? Where's Filemón at?"

"I think he's "testing" a branded whisky, Mr. Superintendent."

"WHA~T? He goes to the bar during work time~?"

"Oh no! He'd be incapable of doing something like that! He drinks from that expensive imported brand you save up for the visits… Cursing aloud, he draws his right sleeve backwards as he heads into his office! Now pay attention!"

"M-Mr. Super! Yikes! What are you going to do with that bottle…? What are….? CRASH! Ouwah! You tattletale! You informer! You snitch! YOU FATTY!" Burner Man cursed.

"Prrrtz!"

"I called you because I've got an important mission for you two and…! Mortadelo! You'll test out your miniature mountain climber disguise later on! There's a guy in trouble and he needs our help. His name… Mr. Security Provost!"

"Mr. Security Provost? But he's a member of the "SAPO", the current ruling party!"

"And we know from a good source that you're affiliated to the opposition party! The "RANA"!"

"Naturally… Heh, heh! That's why I'm sending you two there to lend him a hand! Mwah, hah, hah! Don't run into trouble! You'll head ASAP to his office and you'll submit to any of his orders! Move it!"

"Hey! Mr. Super! When walking in front of your desk Mortadelo picked one of your cigars and… RI~P! You brute! You glassy scare-crow! You owl-face! You bald broom!" Needle Man cursed.

"Stop acting like an idiot: we're going to visit a provost! Take out that disguise and don't be so lizard-like!" Burner Man grumbled.

"What disguise?" Meiru asked.

"Crab! He ripped a whole patch of Ms. Ofelia's red dress from behind and carried a cigar in the other pincer! Ahem, ahem! Knock, knock! Knock! Hum! It's gotta be the "TIA" agents who have been sent here… Good after…A~H! Gl! Gl! Gl!"

"By all the… What happened…? What…? AH! You absolute idiot! I said don't be so lizard-like! I didn't say "be wizard-like"!"

"Well, Boss! You know! Ever since that day in which I tried to listen if the bomb's mechanism was working and it did work my hearing has been pretty bad… CALM DOWN!"

"So he disguised as some horrific wizard, eh?" Meiru giggled.

"And the chase involves Filemón carrying a traffic light and Mortadelo running away disguised as some kind of crawling green alien! Come in: Mr. Provost is waiting for you. And he can't stand tobacco smell so put that bloody cigarette elsewhere! And that "elsewhere" ended up being one of Mr. Secretary's nose nostrils!"

"What a barbarian!" Roll cursed.

"Ah! Good afternoon. So you two are the "TIA" agents?"

"Yes, little boy. Where's daddy? Note! Mr. Prevost isn't what we'd call average height. He was a meter tall at the best."

"No daddy and no crap! I'm the City Security Prevost!"

"Ah! But you gotta handle the small towns, right? And the little villages and so…"

"I'm in charge of ALL security! But it turns out that the bad guys know our systems better than any TV program… So then! You two, with your cutting-edge systems, will infiltrate the world of those rascals, those playboys, those shameless…!"

"Huh! But wait a min: we don't get involved in politics! Ya know?"

"GRFTJX! I mean the assaulters, terrorists, drug smugglers, knife-users, writers and such! I want you to reach the core of their gangs and destroy them! And you'll also double as my bodyguards too! Heh, heh! I take it you're skilled at marksmanship, right? Note: Mr. Secretary is listening into the chat by leaning his right ear into the door."

"Heh! Imagine! Do you see that fly roaming around that! Well! Eat bullet, you!"

"The door! You've ruined the high-class mahogany door!"

"Well! But… Did you see how I scared it away? Did you see it?"

"Yes, I saw it! BRRR! Alright! Work time is over. Escort me to my home and keep your eyes open!"

"Why! You got a cold in the ear? What happened to you?" Needle Man asked while sounding surprised.

"Nothing! Nothing has happened to me! Nothing! Note: the bullet got past the door and harmed Mr. Secretary's right ear. Hey you! You don't remember what I told you about that bloody tobacco? Place that cigarette where I can't see it! Ua~h! Note: Mortadelo stuffed in on his neck area from behind!"

"What a brute, really!" Roll muttered.

"Coming from a village in the middle of nowhere…"

"I parked the car there… Keep your eyes open!"

"Like this, you mean?"

"What next?" Meiru asked.

"Well! We're starting to drag on so… A safe fell from atop and buried the Prevost into the ground while both of them kept on looking at the sides and walking towards the car before noticing his absence. Mortadelo used an elephant disguise to remove it and they dug him out."

"Quick, let's get to the car… We gotta drive him to the hospital! You drive!"

"… Heh! He's gotta be the type who falls asleep while driving… Listen, listen! He's got an alarm clock inside of the portfolio!"

"An alarm clock…? A~H! A BOMB! I'TS A BOMB! It's set to explode in a few seconds from now! I'm gonna toss it somewhere!"

"Hey! What are you doing with Mr. Prevost's portfolio? Hand this over, you! Mr. Prevost, that guy was taking the portfolio with him and… Mr. Prevost! What happened…to…? BOOM!"

"The bomb went off inside of the car!" Roll realized.

"But take into account that no – one dies in this comic! No matter how much they're electrocuted, bombed or anything… Don't deny it! You tried to do me in taking advantage of my KO status! You're a paid assassin sent by the "RANA"! Wait until I catch you, you miserable grunt!"

"B-but I say that… that those guys… that… that you scratch your back, bloody it all!"

"What's going on? I don't understand, hey! I just being bagpiper at England's Her Majesty's, Queen Feliciana's, service! Bye, bye!"

"Shut up and walk you moron!"

"A bagpiper disguise? That's not impossible."

"Heh, heh! And the Prevost hit the secretary with a pipe having a faucet on it while Filemón hid in the bagpipe! Alright! Let's go!"

There was a chorus of general laughter and Meiru nodded in approval at "Kage" who replied with a smile…


	49. Chapter 49: Settling the score

**Chapter 49: Settling the score**

10:44 AM (Japan Time), Saturday August the 31st…

"… So… This is the topmost spot of _Purgatory_… Are you sure nobody can see us?"

"Sure thing. We'll be pretty silent, the cover hides us from sight to the guys in the deck and no sounds come inside of the ship unless they have their portholes open which I doubt: they'll rather keep them closed and enjoy the A/C system…"

"Alright, Hikari… What did you bring me here for?"

"To settle the score… Last time around it was a match. But I'm not asking for a Net Battle this time. Let's do it the old-fashioned way."

"Punches and kicks, you mean?"

"Yeah. There's a "Copy Roid" there for Blues to use: Saito – niisan wants to test him out."

"Alright… Let's get down to business then."

Netto had brought Enzan to the roof of _Purgatory_'s central tower from where some cylinders which looked like periscopes or antennae emerged from: Saito was also present there and he'd taken off his shirt and vest to expose his upper body: a "Copy Roid" had been placed close by as well while Netto looked at Enzan.

"Plug In! Blues, Transmission!"

While Enzan did that Netto took out his coat and the black shirt he carried to toss them into a corner: Blues merely drew his fists while Enzan also took off his upper body's clothes.

"There's something you haven't explained yet."

"What?"

"Hosoyada. And Kuwahashi."

"Oh. Those two."

"What happened to them?"

"No big deal! See: we found out during an initial testing of a prototype node about the mess Hosoyada was in so we offered him a quick way out as bait… He had to come to that party so we told him someone would pick him and extract him then… Zarashe went in with the portable "Dimensional Converter" in the tray and turned it on to warp the guy out of the room: we then sent him to Hokkaido where we'd made arrangements for him… The truth is that he'd been turned into a scapegoat by the real culprits so…"

"And Kuwahashi?"

"Well. He had some debts as you know but really hadn't done anything bad… We did tell him a place to flee to if things went ashtray and there he was picked up by a "Dimensional Converter" too… I dunno what became of him afterward because I wasn't involved in that: Bertha – san had been trailing you so she figured out that Suzuki – san could be in the hospital. She was there the next day too disguised as a nurse to check on your reactions but then pulled out…"

"I see. Well. I can't really complain. And I'll keep my word: Laika won't get to hear anything. It's easy for me to play frustrated and bored. He won't be surprised if I start shifting my attention to other things. And I wouldn't say that we had anything mutual… The guy wanted to try on someone else who wasn't of his unit and approached me… I didn't pay much attention to the whole deal…" He scratched the back of his head.

"Search Man's methods can be too radical. It'd be hard to keep him at bay and not having him nag on everything." Blues told Saito.

"Sure. Come on! I still can't believe he didn't try to compare photos of us to begin or our signatures… The guy stood there long enough so that if Search Man had paid attention he could've scanned a fourth of his code and just with a fourth of it he could tell us apart. But showing up and attacking us like that to then threaten me with deletion… Couldn't have he been somewhat more civilized?" Saito sighed.

"I get the point."

"Good. Let's get started. But we'll try not to hurt each other too much either: this isn't pro boxing." Netto grinned.

"Come!"

"Here I come, Blues!"

"I'm ready!"

Enzan tried to hit Netto's right shoulder but he suddenly arched to the left so that Enzan's attack met the air: Netto quickly used his right leg to hit Enzan's stomach area and force him to back away: he didn't give him a break and placed the right foot on the ground to then try to hit Enzan with the left leg: he connected on the middle of his torso and did manage to pull him backwards: Enzan groaned and tried to counter with his right left but Netto used his own right leg to intercept the attack: he delivered a fist into Enzan's right side of the torso next: Enzan cursed under his breath and suddenly tried to ram into Netto using his head but Netto ducked and used his hands to push against the torso thus driving him backwards and having him hit the rear of his head with one of the cylinders: Enzan groaned and tried to jump towards Netto by ducking and then making the move yet Netto merely imitated his trick and they clashed mid-way across the jump: they began to push against each other but Enzan began to slide backwards before Netto gripped his wrists and whipped him around with both hitting the floor next: Netto was atop Enzan and still gripping his wrists while directing a smug smile at him.

"So, Enzan! I guess you never were a passionate fighter."

"The fuck. This isn't over yet, Hikari!"

"Bring it on, Holmes."

"Hrah!"

Enzan got to his feet and quickly tried to hit Netto with his head on the chest but Netto merely jumped to the right thus Enzan ended up hitting the cold metallic floor instead: he stood up again and tried to rush towards Netto who grinned and extended his hands to grip his shoulders and brake him while nodding the head sideways in reprisal.

"That won't do, Chris!"

"Chris? Who's that?"

"Ask Wesker."

"Who?"

"An intriguing guy."

"Guess Meijin knows about the guy…"

"Sure thing."

"Have at you!"

Enzan did manage to finally land a hit on Netto's right shoulder but he merely lifted an eyebrow and suddenly gripped Enzan's right wrist to pull him towards him as he spun around and finally threw him into the floor again: he gripped both wrists again and loomed over Enzan.

"Krauser says you're slow." Netto joked.

"A German?"

"Who knows, _Comrade_?"

"A Sharo guy, then." Enzan guessed.

"Ask Mr. Kennedy."

"The President?"

"No. Agent Scott Kennedy."

"Guess I'll have to locate him firstly."

"Yeah. Ask Meijin – chan."

"Oh come on. That doesn't fit him, you know."

"Heh, heh, heh. Well. Guess so."

"This isn't over!" Enzan challenged.

"But I'll soon be." Netto smugly replied.

"What?"

"Here."

"Ooff!"

Netto suddenly hit Enzan's torso with the front of his head thus knocking the air outta him: he stood up and then spotted Saito locking arms against Blues: both then backed off and prepared for another round: Netto glanced ahead of him and stepped one pace to the right to dodge Enzan, who'd managed to recover, and his right punch: he extended the left leg and Enzan tripped with it meeting the floor again.

"So?"

"Damn. That Keitai Denwa man sure taught you well."

"Obviously. He wouldn't have survived without these tricks."

"Man. I guess this isn't my show anymore then."

"But you're the PR guy, see."

"No way…" He groaned.

"Heh, heh. Gotcha."

"Sneaky guy…"

"Huff, huff… Hra~h!"

"The wind's soft today."

"By all the… He's not even looking at me and he can stop and predict all of my attacks? This is out of my league!"

Both looked at how Saito was glancing at the skies and distractedly blocking or dodging all of Blues' attacks: he began to hum a tune and Blues suddenly warped behind him but Saito merely arched his body backwards and Blues failed to grip him: Saito lied on the ground, rolling to the right, stood up, and closed his arms around Blues from behind to lift him and have him crash against one of the cylinders: Blues growled and managed to break free while Saito grinned.

"Surprise, surprise. Uncle Moran came to say hi."

"Oh come on. Who invented that?" Enzan asked.

"Oriol did after I told him Superintendent Oda's mania of referring to that "Uncle Merton" guy…" Netto laughed.

"Jeez."

"Relax, Enzan! You'll get to shine 'long with the Net Police's Cyber CID from now on! You can go and hunt some sneaky fries who boast of being the strongest! Make them cower in fear."

"Oh yeah. I like the sound of that." Enzan grinned.

"Whack! Damn. I'm beaten."

"I'd rather say Uncle Moran's smiles boost me up." Saito apparently improvised out of the blue.

"Guess so… Man." Blues groaned as he stood up.

"Not bad." A voice rang out.

A hologram suddenly formed on the zone and displayed Zero EXE: both Enzan and Blues gasped.

"You're… Zero EXE?"

"Why. You hadn't seen a photo of me yet?"

"No. Gotta admit that." Enzan admitted.

"You can fight?" Blues asked.

"Of course. I'm good at swords and I've got one or two tricks up my sleeves too. Or should I say aces-in-the-hole?" He made a chuckle-like sound.

"Well! Whatever. If there are some idiots boasting around then tell me where they are: I'll handle them." Blues told him.

"Sure. I don't like idiots like those either. You're strong or you're not: but you can't know without trying."

"Elemental." Netto grinned.

"Huh? Ah. You're Hikari Netto, right? Kuro… I mean.VP _Noir_ talked me about you… Where's Kage at?"

"Miquel? I guess he's talking with that _Noir_ guy."

"Well. Fine. I won't bother them. And you're Rock Man?"

"Yeah. Correct."

"You look very human-like."

"That's how I was designed to be." He shrugged.

"Alright. By the way… Those three are at it."

"Oho. Can we listen to them?"

"Sure. Wait a min."

Zero's hologram vanished and a speaker was switched on: there was the sound of someone clearing his throat.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen aboard _Purgatory_! Today, I, Video Man, along with fellows Burner Man and Needle Man, bring to you _The Security Provost_… Lights! Camera! And… Action!"

"Alright! You "TIA" guys! What are you doing?"

"Well, I'm working with this "puzzle" and…"

"Quit the "puzzles"! Mr. Prevost wants to see you ASAP! CLOC!

"Hey! Come on, man… Didn't you say that I was working with this "head-breaker"? You had to get in the middle of its path!"

"The pun seems to be that "puzzle" is named "rompe-cabezas" in Spanish which can be literally translated as "head-breaker" because it takes a lot of mental effort to solve one…" Saito guessed.

"Spring has come, eh? It popped out of your head!"

"GRFTJX! Stop being the scarecrow and go meet Mr. Provost!

"Well, well! I'm going!"

"And you certainly don't have a diploma on first aid, do you?"

"Well, I did what I could and… Note! Filemón was bandaging his head's bump and the bandages ended up connected to the chair!"

"Come on…" Enzan rolled his eyes.

"Hey! You! Again? I told you I don't want see you smoking any of those bothersome cigarettes anymore!"

"Well! Man! Don't yell! You can't see me anymore like this…"

"What's going on?"

"Brrr! Your idiotic partner stuffed this bucket in my head! I almost asphyxiated there!"

"What a brute the guy is! Let me take this away… This is better, see? This one is of your size!"

"So he took the bucket out but then placed a gigantic one on him? Both of them can be so idiotic, really!" Enzan sighed in defeat.

"By the way, Enzan… Make sure to watch if Barrel tries to snoop around by sending Dingo as a proxy… We don't want them to get to know about this either, right?" Netto requested in a hushed tone.

"Deal."

"Count on us." Blues added.

"I know I can count on you guys." Saito smiled.

"I'm gonna be busy with the 3rd year of middle school but I'll keep on coming to the monthly Science Labs meetings… I don't think I'll be able to set a foot in the Net Police's HQ without some trouble appearing once there…" Netto sighed.

"That was long ago. Bury it." Enzan told him.

"Yeah. You're right…"

"Did you call for us, Mr. Half a meter…? I mean… Mr. Provost?"

"Yes! We've found out that Salustio "Metralla", the king of assaulters, has established his hideout in 7, Guiu Street… Because we needed actual evidence to imprison him, I sent Agent Fernández to try to slip into the gang but… Ah! He had bad luck! They pierced his sandwich with a bullet, see!"

"Bad luck? Didn't he have money to buy another?"

"HE'D JUST EATEN IT!" Needle Man exclaimed.

"Yikes. So that means they got him on the stomach?" Enzan gasped and looked nervous.

"So you'll feign being villains, will slip into their gang, and get the evidence to imprison him during two millennia!"

"Yeah, sure. And what if he figures out we're "TIA" agents?"

"Then you must use these candies."

"They look nice! I'm sure they're strawberry flavor…" Burner Man sounded amused.

"Hey… And do you really think that by giving him candies the "Metralla" will let us go?" Video Man sounded skeptical.

"The candies are for you to use! They are potassium cyanide as established for those kinds of situations!" Needle Man replied.

"Jeez, Boss. You're like a brat: you always want to stuff your mouth with something!" Video Man grumbled.

"Well then! Get to the work! And come back soon! I don't want to be caught with the pants down if some terrorist targets me!" Needle Man commanded.

"Calm down! We've foreseen everything! We've placed a trap door behind this door which leads to the waste burning plant! If someone tries to come closer without activating the safety device then… Whoa! Boss! The trap-door…! It opened on its own!"

"Well! We'll simply lock it up again and we'll check the mechanism later on…. Let's get to work! By the way… Where could've the secretary guy gone off to?"

"Dunno… I guess the guy must be pretty burnt out by now!"

"Let me guess: he'd fallen into the trap-door." Netto guessed.

"Correct!"

"Really…" Saito laughed.

"Jeez. How ridiculous. I dunno how many times I've said this already but I won't tire of repeating it." Blues grumbled.

"Alright, Hikari. Let's make a deal. I keep your secret and in exchange you tell me where I can find grunts worth my time." Enzan told him as he extended his right hand.

"Deal. Count on me." Netto replied while clasping the hand: he shook it to signal their deal.

"Rock Man. Can I call you "Saito" as our secret name?"

"Sure. I'll be having an active role as Hikari Saito, so we'll come up with a Rock Man imitation to fill for me when I'm not in the Cyber World. No – one will suspect anything." Saito smiled at him.

"…Pretend you're killing me while causing uproar to get them to notice!"

"Yeah, Boss!"

"Shaddup, you brutes! There are kids sleeping in 'ere~!"

"Mortadelo came up with a whole music set of trumpets, drums, claxons and saucers!" Video Man laughed.

"Let's head back to the mainland. Today's gonna be an important day: as one chapter ends another begins…" Netto smiled.

"…and this new chapter is yet to be written!"

The group chuckled in a jovial tone as they looked at the seas…


	50. Chapter 50: Bright tomorrow

**Chapter 50: Bright tomorrow**

12:35 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Where's Miquel at?"

"Huh? Eh… I don't know, Joanne – san."

"… Whatever."

"Phew."

"Eh… It'd seem Joanne – san learned not to speculate aloud, right, Lily – san?"

"Yeah. We should be glad of it, Beta."

Zarashe and Beta X had been standing in the deck of _Purgatory_ and looking out at the seas when Joanne popped out from behind them with a hostile face: Zarashe gulped and stepped back and while it looked like Joanne was about to come up with some paranoia or another she simply turned on her heels and headed away towards the central tower: Beta X whispered something to Lily who nodded in agreement.

"Mwah, hah, hah! Behold! Mortadelo tried to use a book written by his Boss as anesthesia for the "Metralla" and his buddy. He claimed he couldn't get past the second page without falling asleep out of boredom and because he thought it was a dull book." Video Man's voice rang out through the speakers.

"Come on…" Zarashe sounded skeptical.

"Jeez."

"And that wasn't all! Mortadelo was told to distract them somehow while he gathered proof. He sneaked inside and heard someone so he hid in a cupboard. It turned out the three of them were playing hide and seek and they'd hid inside of the cupboard. They began to shoot Filemón seeing how he wasn't as dead as they thought he was. He had to buy a new shirt given how his ended up being a mess."

"No wonder." Zarashe muttered.

"What's this… noise?" Felix asked as he came out of one of the small buildings set along the deck along with Tom.

"Video Man, ya know."

"What are they saying today?" Tom asked.

"Just listen."

"By all the…! What's going on in here?"

"Nothing, dudes! I'm just a freaking bad guy and I did that cop in… You need to hide me!"

"Consider that done! We need though guys… Come inside, dude!"

"The matter's been solved! I disposed of the corpse!"

"Good guy! Heh, heh! So? Did you throw it into the block's garbage container then?"

"No. I put it inside of s sack and threw it at the bottom of the port."

"Huh… W-w-wait a min! Be right back! A thousand blistering barnacles! I gotta hurry it up! I hope I get there before the worst case scenario happens…! Luckily I carried my male siren disguise along! There he is! It'd seem he's still breathing! I'll quickly undo the knots! Whoa! The Boss has a weird face: he's all purple-tinted! I just gotta hope I made it on time… Up we go! Well yeah! I think I made it on time to avoid the worst case scenario… The pen I lent him hasn't rusted yet!"

"No way! He just rushed there to save his pen from getting rusted? And he left his Boss in the water?" Tom asked in disbelief.

"You miserable Bedouin! You desert rat! Abandoning me at the bottom of the harbor…!" Burner Man roared.

"Well, Boss! You didn't tell me to bring you up, so…"

"How stupid." Felix grumbled.

"Doesn't he have a brain to begin with? Isn't it obvious you gotta save a person's life?" Tom cursed.

"Hey! Blame the guy and not me." Video Man replied.

"Oh my. It'd seem there's a party going on, big boys." Bertha suddenly joked as she popped out close by leaning against a building and intercrossing her arms: she had a smug smile on her face.

"Keep at it!" Sandra encouraged.

"Let us hear more." Agoras added as he promptly walked in and adjusted his glasses to the correct height.

"By Lestrade! This _is_ amusing." Victor joked.

"Hum. As long as it is good for the morale…" The "secretary" muttered as she also came out.

"Alright! Come back inside and see if you can find any evidence! I'll be waiting here while hiding!"

"Like the owls! Heh, heh! Hey! Boss! Wouldn't you know? They tasked me with a job!"

"Good! That means they don't suspect you! And what job is it?"

"Guess it, Boss!"

"We can't." Agoras protested.

"Charwoman! I know he's a man but he disguised as a charwoman because they wanted him to be the butler!"

"Oho. Intriguing." Bertha snickered.

"Well! I bought all of the stores… I guess you'll now charge me with a better and hotter work, right?"

"But of course, son!"

"Chef this time around!"

"Chef? Well… Why not…" The "secretary" muttered.

"Supper's ready~! Well! Let's go see if those guys liked my cooking! It'd seem the answer is "no" though"…

"GOR GOL GLOU~C GROJFFF!"

"They were throwing up?" Victor guessed.

"Boss! I got another job!"

"What now? Do you need to do someone in?"

"Not someone… Something! You didn't see the face they had when tasting my soup… Brrr! I'm fed up! Can't you think of any new plans?"

"No! The only new plan I came up with was switching HIDING SPOTS!"

"Oho. _Monsieur_ Mortadelo threw the soup into the garbage bin where Filemón was hiding at?" _Noir_ guessed as he came out along with Legato: he sounded amused.

"Yessir! Well! You're rather picky, aren't you? You had to hit me on my sane eye!"

"Stuff some sleeping drug on them and when they're sleeping I'll go fetch the evidence!"

"Sounds like the usual plan…" Zero's hologram commented.

"Whoa. What a gathering." Zarashe muttered.

"Guess we all wanted to have a good first impression of the views from _Purgatory_, ladies and gentlemen…" Hades smiled as he joined the group while stuffing both hands on his coat's pockets.

"Can I participate too?" Freeze Man asked.

"I'll join in too." Dark Man announced.

"Good! Make a try."

"Just what we needed… Now I gotta be anesthetist! It's done, Boss, but I didn't get them to fall asleep! They just told me to stuff this crap in the armpit!" Dark Man read.

"Why! What sleeping drug did you use? Chloroform? Ether? Ethyl chloride…?" Freeze Man tried next.

"Oh, no! I gave them the draft of that novel you were going to submit for the "Comet" award for them to read…"

"I'm gonna teach you what a "sleeping drug" is! I'm so gonna…!"

"But, Boss… Didn't you tell me to make them fall asleep? I know that everyone who has read your novel has started snoring before they'd even finished the second page!"

"Hum! What fools! You need to analyze something to its depth before imparting judgment!" Pharaoh Man proclaimed.

"True." Legato agreed with him.

"Shah, shah, shah! And Filemón chased the guy with a large wooden hammer while Mortadelo used a soldier disguise to protect his head with a helmet!" Needle Man laughed.

"I now remembered that the guy once tried on the greatest of his disguises… Cosmos!"

"My. Intriguing." Cosmo Man chuckled.

"As long as they root out any ignorant fools…" Yamato Man muttered in the background.

"Brrr! Distract them somehow so I can come in and get that evidence we need!"

"Jeez! Now I gotta be the buffoon as if I was in the court of His Majesty King Sigericus IV of Babylon!"

"Aha! Total silence… Mortadelo must be keeping them busy. Yikes! Someone's coming! Gotta hide…!"

"Hey~! Where are you at? Where~? Ah! Got you, got you! Hah, hah! The three of you hiding in the cupboard… T-the three of…? But there's only t-two of…"

"The guy I threw into the sea!"

"Looks like it wasn't dead enough… Hit 'em hard, hit 'em!"

"Ua~h! No, sir! Don't start to get wild ideas about "wild moths"! I want to buy new clothes and don't mind me! You just had to come up with a game of hide-and-seek! I'm going to hit you and hard for this…!"

"But, Boss! Did you want me to organize a tennis match in the bathroom or what? You're pretty demanding! Jeez! Hey! Boss! We've got a chance to get the evidence! They're distributing the booty from their heists! We just need to take a photo and show it to the judge!"

"Good idea! You make sure they're busy with the booty and I'll take the photo!"

"…One for you, three for me… Two for you, six for me…"

"Dunno, but… I think that multiplying doesn't work like that."

"Counting stamps, eh? Why don't you raise the shutter? You're gonna get fungus in the eyelashes if you don't light up… Whoa! Boss!"

"That guy again!"

"…"Boss"! He called the guy "Boss"!"

"Ops. Not good." Suzuki muttered.

"Yeah. They're in trouble."

"_Big_ trouble." Keitai Denwa chuckled.

"… By the way, Mr. President… Maybe we should say some words regarding our victory?" _Noir_ suggested.

"Why not… Ahem, ahem! Ladies and gentlemen. Thanks to your joined efforts… Our founding pillar is to contribute to the stability of society. And thus we now look forward… towards a bright tomorrow! The late Serenade would have appreciated this… We'll contribute to make sure his name is not forgotten! For a stable tomorrow!"

"HORRAY~!"

Everyone (Felix without enthusiasm) clapped: Golden Star's main goal had been achieved but their work would still continue…

14:55 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Phew! I'm home, dear. Huh? My. We've got an extra guest? Ijuuin – kun?"

"Tee, heh, heh. Surprise, surprise, Yuuichirou – san."

"Papa~! Can you come up here for a min?"

"There's something we need to tell you!"

Yuuichirou came home and was surprised to see how Haruka had set the dining table for four persons instead of the usual three: Netto and Saito called out to him from the upper floor and Haruka giggled so Yuuichirou frowned.

"Alright… Coming."

Yuuichirou climbed upstairs and knocked in the room's door before entering and being surprised to see Saito there.

"Oh. You just put on normal clothes and found out how to turn off the bodysuit program, Saito?"

"Not really. Here."

Saito suddenly hugged Yuuichirou and he suddenly noticed something when his fingers brushed against his skin: Yuuichirou placed one ear against his chest and then gasped.

"This body…is real! It's not the "Copy Roid"…! But how…? Ah! The other "cyborg body"… It was designed for you?"

"Yeah. We didn't tell you back then because we wanted to save the surprise up… But… From now on I can be in the real world as a human and as Hikari Saito! We've already arranged everything: all documents regarding my death have been removed and replaced by others which say I was being treated at home with some surgeries performed from time to time… And that by now a cure has been found…"

"Whoa! Eh… This is… fantastic! No! Not just "fantastic"… Incredible! What I sought to… You've accomplished it!"

"Yeah! And I've written myself into the school too. Mama signed the necessary documents too so… I'm gonna be in Netto's class as a new student. We've programmed a dummy Rock Man to pretend to be me and thus maintain the illusion…" Saito continued.

"So that's what you've been doing the whole summer? Arranging everything?"

"Yup! That's what we've done." Netto made a proud smile.

"Fantastic…! Well then… Welcome back home. Saito."

"Thanks, Papa!"

"The meal is ready~!" Haruka called out.

"Oho. Let's go and check out what Haruka cooked for us today. I'm sure she's prepared something special…" Yuuichirou smiled.

"Hmmm… I can smell her spaghetti with meatballs…" Netto's mouth began to water.

"Come on, Netto… Focus." Saito giggled: he even pinched his right cheek to snap him outta it.

"Yikes! Alright…"

The three of them headed downstairs and found that Netto's suspicion had been right: there was spaghetti with meatball served in the dishes which were still letting off steam: Haruka was standing nearby and had a pleased smile to her.

"Both of them brought the ingredients and helped me cleanse the house today… I'm so glad that Saito found a way to be a normal person again: your promise has been fulfilled, dear."

"Well, yes… But it was through their efforts that they did it: I didn't know anything about it!" Yuuichirou scratched the rear of his head.

"Tee, heh, heh! Alright! Let's sit down."

"Yum! _Itadakimasu_~!"

"So! What do you think of the incoming 3rd year?"

"It won't be easy. But if we give it our best then we'll pass for sure. My grades have been excellent insofar, right?"

"True."

"And since we've studied together I'm sure I can get some pretty good grades too. I'll try not to overdo it, though. I don't want to go and feel like I'm cheating." Saito admitted as he sipped some water.

"By the way… How did the comic's chapter end? You know: the one they broadcasted a while ago…" Netto asked Saito.

"Heh, heh! "Metralla" and his buddy forced them to go to the Mr. Provost's office and they knocked out the secretary: they then robbed everything at gun point. Mr. Provost then had the secretary try to sniff their trail while Mortadelo disguised as a knitting lady while Filemón was inside of the knitted giant sock… "Do you think he's gotten a grudge about us, Boss?"… "Shut up and knit, you nit-wit! I'll teach you about lifting shutters! I'm so gonna teach you!"…" Saito giggled.

"It's good to see they've had fun insofar… They told me the tale too and I can see that they _needed_ it." Haruka whispered to Yuuichirou.

"Yeah, I know… And I know they'll do their best to stay out of danger in the times to come… I'll also try not to overwork myself in the Science Labs too…"

"…and Dekao actually tried to challenge a 4th grade student but lost in just 46 seconds… Meiru and Yaito proved to him how he was just making hollow boasting…" Netto was telling Saito.

"I heard that Meijin – san has taken two weeks of break and gone off to Izu… Obihiro – kun is working with some of the programs we gave him while Blues has started jerk-hunting… Hikawa – kun seems to be alright and he's looking forward to the next year too…"

"And Superintendent Oda keeps on saying there's gonna be a duel with "Uncle Moriarty" next given how "Uncle Moran" turned pacifist."

"Heh, heh! Uncle Moriarty, eh?" Saito giggled.

"You know Superintendent Oda: he's a genius."

"Of course. Who else could come up with such good puns?"

"As long as they don't get in your nerves…" Yuuichirou laughed.

"_Check it out_!"

The four of them finished the meal and they sat around the living room's sofa while looking at what was a video recording of _Purgatory_'s insides and outsides: it also included the room which had two beds, a desk, a cupboard and the right-side door which communicated with the room next to it.

"I'd say that you shouldn't let that room go to waste. If you want to stay there one night, then just tell us and no problem. You're big enough to stay in other places when you feel like it." Yuuichirou told them.

"Thanks, Papa!" Netto thanked.

"You've made a rather practical decoration, dears. But shouldn't you try to add a photo or poster to add a personal touch to it?"

"Why not…" Saito agreed with the idea.

"Oho. Mail from Superintendent Oda… "Mr. Walking Nose will knock at Mr. Walking Eyelashes' door and ask for an X-sized handkerchief while saying this town is way too small for the two of them and challenging him to a Mexican stand-off."… Not bad." Netto read with a grin.

"I now remembered a slightly old-fashioned motto… "Look forward towards a bright tomorrow"… I think it fits us, really."

"Then let's make it ours. We'll always be looking forward towards a bright tomorrow." Haruka suggested.

"As one chapter ends… another begins." Saito smiled.

The group laughed in a jovial tone of voice…

**THE END**


End file.
